Final Thoughts
When it comes to your data the more protection the better. The iStorage cloudAshur is a very interesting product as it is not a storage product at all, but rather an encryption module that allows you to encrypt and decrypt files. While this is called the cloudAshur and is targeted towards cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud etc you can use it for local files as well, which I like. This means that with the cloudAshur you can encrypt files on any device easily.
Cloud providers do a great job with security, but if someone either gains access to one of my computers connected to a cloud service, or finds out my login information for the cloud service they can easily access my files. But if I use the cloudAshur all they are going to see is a bunch of encrypted files with no way to access them. The only way they would be able to access them is with the cloudAshur module and of course they’ll need to know my PIN to activate the module. This added layer of security is a nice thing to have.
For those sharing or collaborating using a cloud service iStorage offers the KeyWriter app. It copies all critical security parameters including the randomly generated encryption key and all PINs between the Master cloudAshur module and as many secondary cloudAshur modules as required. So you can encrypt your files at home and a colleague across the globe with a cloudAshur module that you configured with the KeyWriter app can easily decrypt and access the files.
Another piece of software that is offered is the Remote Management app. This allows you to remotely manage your encryption module and do so much more with it. I would say this software is perfect for a company that has deployed cloudAshur devices. From there an IT manager can see which devices are online, setup IP and Geo fencing, disable certain devices, see logs, and more.
Now when it comes to pricing the CloudAshur is $129 for the module itself. Then if you need to clone the encryption key and PIN on the device to another CloudAshur device that is going to be $9.95 per device. If you want to remotely manage and change even more settings on the device you’ll need a license for the Remote Management app, which is $19.95 per device, so things can get costly, especially if you plan to deploy these across an organization.
One thing that I did find odd is that with the CloudAshur itself I am not able to blacklist any application or files. I am also unable to encrypt files names, but if I have (and pay for the Remote Management app) I am able to.
Overall I think iStorage has a great product in their cloudAshur Cloud Encryption module. It will allow you to easily encrypt files either on a local machine or in the cloud. On top of that apps like their KeyWriter and Remote Management make deploying and managing these modules throughout your organization quite easy. Overall ThinkComputers gives the iStorage cloudAshur Cloud Encryption Module a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Can easily encrypt cloud and local files
– Pretty easy to setup
– AES-XTS 256-bit & AES-ECB 256-bit encryption
– EAL4+ ready secure microprocessor
– FIPS Level 3 compliant tamper proof & evident design
– Self destruct feature
Cons:
– Can get expensive if you plan on using KeyWriter and Remote Management software
– No easy way to encrypt entire folders if you’ve already populated them
– Cannot encrypt file names without the Remote Management software
