If the red LED is flashing rapidly then the device has entered Brute Force Protection Mode. This occurs at the halfway point of consecutive incorrect unlock attempts. This number is programmable; the max (and default setting) is 10 attempts. Follow the steps in the product manual which refer to Brute Force Protection to permit the second half of your remaining unlock PIN entries. Note: if all of the allowed attempts are spent on incorrect PIN entries, the device will assume it’s under brute force attack and perform a crypto-erase, rendering all of the device’s data as indecipherable.

For Apricorn encrypted drives with a DOM (Date of Manufacture, found on original packaging label under the UPC code) of September 2017 to the present date, refer to the manual with product’s name and the word “Configurable” in the title. If unsure of manufacture date, all Aegis Configurator compatible devices have the “Configurable ‘C’” logo on the back. For older non-configurator compatible secure drives, refer to the manual that doesn’t have “Configurable” in the title.

If your encrypted Aegis secure device is locking when it is connected to a PC running Windows 8 or Windows 10 it is most likely due to suspend commands that Windows is issuing to the drive in order to reduce power consumption. When Windows suspends an Aegis secure device it will lock. The PIN must be entered again in order to unlock and use the drive. The following instructions will show you how to configure Windows to stop issuing suspend commands: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/prevent-hard-drive-going-sleep-windows

There are Energy Saver system settings within the Mac OS that could be sending suspend commands to the Apricorn drive, forcing it to lock when not in use. To disable these settings, open the system preferences in the Mac OS and navigate to the Energy Saver settings. There is an option here to “put hard disks to sleep when idle.” Uncheck this option and the Aegis secure device should stay unlocked as long as the Mac is not put to sleep/shut down.

IF the Admin PIN was the only PIN generated in initial device setup then the only option is to perform a device reset and establish a new Admin PIN. All device's data will be lost as a result of device reset. If User PIN(s) and / or data recovery PINs (Configurator-compatible devices only) were created at initial setup, then it is possible to unlock the device using any of these PINs.

Access the drive using the Admin PIN. Follow the steps in the manual to remove the User PINs (which will also remove all recovery PINs and self-destruct PIN) and then add new User PIN(s). If your device has a “Configurable” symbol on it, up to 4 recovery PINs can be programmed onto the device (typically by the Admin during initial configuration). If you forget your original user PIN, the recovery PINs will allow you to create a replacement User PIN. If your drive was issued by your workplace, your IT Administrator/Help Desk should be able to provide you the recovery PIN. Once the new User PIN is set up, you will be able to unlock the drive and access your data. If Recovery PINs were not created at initial setup, the Admin PIN can be used to unlock the drive and recover the data. Additionally the Admin can generate a new User PIN(s) from within the Admin mode. In the event that no recovery PINs were set and both the User and Admin PINs are forgotten, the drive can be reset and used again but all of the device's data will be lost as a result of the reset.

Aegis secure devices are any of our 256-bit hardware-encrypted drives as follows: Aegis Secure Key 3, Aegis Secure Key 3nx, Aegis Secure Key 3z, Aegis Padlock 3, Aegis Padlock DT, Aegis Padlock DT FIPS, Aegis Fortress, Aegis Fortress L3, Aegis Padlock SSD, and Aegis Bio 3.0

Potentially. In the lock-override mode, the drive will stay unlocked until either the USB port power is interrupted or the device’s lock button is physically pressed. To protect the contents of the device, use this mode with an abundance of caution, especially when plugged into a powered hub. If the drive is left unlocked and unattended while inserted into a powered hub, it is possible to move the hub's host side USB cable to another computer without interrupting USB power to the unlocked device. It is always a good practice to lock the drive or remove it from the USB port whenever unattended.

The entire family of Aegis secure devices uses an AES-XTS 256-bit algorithm.

BadUSB is a theoretical exploit that was presented by SR Labs at the Black Hat conference in August of 2014. SR Labs demonstrated a vulnerability in one USB device that allowed malicious code to be programmed into the USB controller through a firmware update process. The attack described is very sophisticated and in the case of Apricorn's products would require advanced knowledge of our USB controller, a leaked version of our firmware, the programming tool to update our controller, the password used for our programming tool, and an in depth understanding of the device's functionality, etc. According to SR Labs, the failsafe method to eliminate this threat is to simply disable the ability to update the controller's firmware. Apricorn's devices shipping today, including all of our USB 3.0 security products, Padlock and Padlock Pro families already have the firmware locked which prevents field updates to the USB controller. As a continuous improvement, Apricorn is locking down the firmware on all USB controllers used in Apricorn devices to safeguard against this vulnerability.