Apricorn Aegis Fortress 500GB Hardware Encrypted Portable Drive
Introduction
Any product with the name Fortress should be synonymous with security and ruggedness. The FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Validated hardware encrypted Apricorn Aegis Fortress drive seem to be built around these 2 principles and today we will be putting it through its paces. The Aegis Fortress is offered in 500GB right upto a whopping 8TB with prices ranging from $199 to $4799.
The hard drive models come in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB variants and there’s also a SSD version which is offered in 128GB upto 8TB. If you can flesh out $4799 you can be the proud owner of a 8TB SSD model of Apricorn’s Aegis Fortress. With real time hardware encryption, there’s certainly going to be performance hits, so opting for a SSD version can certainly help on that front. The drive takes up certain characteristics of the iStorage Diskashur2 drive we reviewed sometime ago, although the Aegis Fortress looks more rugged in comparison.
Drive Specifications
| DATA TRANSFER RATE | USB 3.0 – up to 5 Gbps |
|---|---|
| POWER SUPPLY | 100% Bus Powered |
| BUFFERSIZE | 8MB |
| INTERFACE | Super Speed USB 3.0 (Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1) |
| RPM | 5400 |
| AVERAGE SEEK TIME | 12 ms |
| SHOCK – NON OPERATING | 1000G 1ms |
| SHOCK – OPERATING | 300G 2ms |
| DIMENSIONS | 19mm X 84.5mm X 120mm (0.75” X 3.3” X 4.7”) Weight: 6.2oz. |
| WARRANTY | 3 year limited |
| APPROVALS | FC CE | FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Validated (NIST certification #2835) |
| CERTIFICATION POLICIES | Click here for Security Policies |
| ECCN / HTS / CAGE CODE | 5A992.c / 8473.50.3000 / 3VYK8 |
| SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS | Compatible with all Operating Systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux Requires USB port |
| COMMENTS | One gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes; accessible capacity will be less and actual capacity depends on the operating environment and formatting. |
Apricorn Aegis Fortress
Pros
- Military Grade Data Encryption
- Platform agnostic
- Easy setup
- Value for money
Cons
- Average performance
