Introduction
Company info
Apricorn Inc. is the leader in encrypted storage solutions. Its headquarters are in California, USA, and all drives are designed and assembled there. Since Apricorn started out in 1983 as an innovator in this space, they have kept innovating. During their time, dozens of award-winning innovations have been developed under the Apricorn brand and for several leading computer manufacturers on an OEM basis.
All their storage solutions feature on-the-fly 100% hardware-based encryption utilizing AES-XTS 256-bit encryption, satisfying US DoD FIPS PUB 197 requirements. While all their drives employ the same encryption and stringent security, only select models have undergone official FIPS 140-2 certification.
Apricorn Aegis Encrypted Storage
All Apricorn Aegis Encrypted Storage are software-free setup and operation and feature host-free onboard keypad authentication. Therefore, there is nothing you need to install on the host for the drive to work. When you first plug the drive in, the host only sees a USB device drawing power; it has no idea what it is yet. Then, you unlock the drive using the onboard keypad. Afterward, the drive is presented to the host as a generic USB storage device. Accordingly, the host has no idea the drive is encrypted storage. Markedly, this has several security benefits:
- Impervious to keylogger attacks
- Impossible to software brute-force
- Deletion of the encryption key upon physical brute-force attempt
- Data is always encrypted at rest and only decrypted on the fly during transit
- Power interruption requires re-authentication to access the data again
- Self-Destruct PIN. In a hostage-type situation where one is forced to unlock the drive, a unique duress PIN presents a blank drive
- Setting the drive as read-only can be done via administrative policy or user action through the onboard keypad.
Since all their storage devices present as generic USB storage, they are 100% cross-platform compatible. The platform can support the Apricorn devices if it supports any USB-type storage solution.
Finally, they all come with a three-year warranty.
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Model comparison
| Model Name | Form Factor | Interface | Storage method | IP code | FIPS Certified | Storage Capacity |
| Aegis Secure Key 3NX | USB Stick | USB 3.2 gen 1 Type A | Flash Memory | IP68 | FIPS 140-2 level 3 | 4GB – 256GB |
| Aegis Secure Key 3NXC | USB Stick | USB 3.2 type C | Flash Memory | IP68 | FIPS 140-2 level 3 | 4GB – 256GB |
| Aegis Secure Key 3.0 | USB Stick | USB 3.2 Type A | Flash Memory | IP68 | FIPS 140-2 level 3 | 16GB-2TB |
| Aegis NVX | Portable Drive | USB 10Gbs Type-C | NVMe SSD | IP68 | None | 500GB-2TB |
| Aegis Fortress L3 | Portable Drive | USB 3.2 Type A and Type C | 5400 RPM HDD or SSD | IP68 | FIPS 140-2 level 3 | HDD: 500GB-5TB SSD: 512GB-20TB |
| Aegis Fortress | Portable Drive | USB 3.2 Type A | 5400 RPM HDD or SSD | IP68 | FIPS 140-2 level 2 | HDD: 500GB-5TB SSD: 512GB-20TB |
| Aegis Padlock 3.0 | Portable Drive | USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A | 5400 RPM HDD or SSD | None | None | HDD: 500GB-2TB SSD: 256GB-16TB |
| Aegis Padlock SSD | Portable Drive | USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A | SSD | IP66 | FIPS 140-2 level 2 | 240GB-4TB |
| Aegis Padlock DT | Portable Drive | USB 3.0 Type B Connector | 7200 RPM HDD | None | None | 2TB-24TB |
| Aegis Padlock DT FIPS | Portable Drive | USB 3.0 Type B Connector | 7200 RPM HDD | None | FIPS 140-2 level 2 | 2TB-24TB |
Note: Padlock DT and Padlock DT FIPS are identical products, except Padlock DT FIPS has been certified for FIPS 140-2, and Padlock DT is less expensive.
IP Code stands for “Ingress Protection code” IP code. (2024, July 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_code
IP68 means it is impervious to dust and can be immersed in over a meter of water for an extended period without any harmful impact.
IP66 can be hosed or rinsed with powerful water jets without any harmful effects but should not be immersed in water.
See Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_code for more details