Aegis Fortress User Manual

Aegis Fortress
User Guide
Remember to save your PIN in a safe place. If lost or forgotten, there is no way to access the drive.
Table of Contents
About the Aegis Fortress Drive 4
Package contents 4
Aegis Fortress - Connections 5
Before you begin 5 Connecting the Aegis Fortress 5 Connecting with the USB Y-Cable 6
Aegis Fortress Keypad Panel 7
First Time Use 7
LED states and their meaning 8
Locking the Drive 9
Unlocking the Drive 9
Admin Mode 9
Changing the Admin PIN 9
Adding a new User PIN 10
Deleting the User PINs 11
Changing the User PIN 11
Setting and Using Recovery PINs 12
Setting Read-Only or Read / Write from Admin 13
To set the drive to Read-Only: 13 To return the drive to Read / Write: 13
Setting Read-Only or Read / Write from User 14
To set the drive to Read-Only: 14 To return the drive to Read / Write: 14
Setting LED Flicker Functionality 15
Aegis Fortress Brute Force Protection 17
Setting a Self-Destruct PIN 18
Performing a Complete Reset 19
Initializing and Formatting After Reset 19
Hibernating or Logging off from the OS 20
Aegis Fortress Setup for Mac OS 21
Diagnostic Mode 22
Troubleshooting 23-24
Technical Support 25
Warranty and RMA information 25
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Setting the Minimum PIN Length 15
Setting the Unattended Auto Lock Feature 15
Setting Lock Override Mode 16
Revised July 2018
About the Aegis Fortress Drive
Aegis Fortress - Connections
The Aegis Fortress is certied
and tested to NIST FIPS 140-2 Level 2 requirements for your most sensitive data’s storage and transportation
Sporting an easy-to-use membrane-type coated keypad design that is resistant to key wear, impervious to dust and grit, and with software-free setup and operation, the Aegis Fortress Edition enables you to access the drive simply and easily with your own unique PIN. And the super fast integrated USB 3.0 cable allows you to access your data up to 10x faster than a USB 2 connection.

Before you begin

Be sure to review the following information before you begin to use the Aegis Fortress.
Attention: Use only the included cables with your Aegis Fortress. You might damage the drive if you use a cable not included with the Aegis Fortress.
The Aegis Fortress is designed for portable use without an AC power adapter and in most cases will be able to power on a single USB port. In the event that the Aegis Fortress is unable to power on a single USB connection, use the included USB Y-cable.
Connecting the Aegis Fortress
1. Attach the integrated USB cable of the Aegis Fortress drive to an
available USB port on your computer, as shown below.
NOTE: While the Aegis Fortress will work with any USB port, for the fastest speeds connect to a USB 3.0 port on your computer.
2. At least one of the Aegis Fortress LEDs should turn on, indicating that
the Aegis Fortress is receiving power.

Package contents

Aegis Fortress drive with
integrated USB 3.0 cable
Travel pouch
USB Y-cable
Quick Start Guide
Aegis Padlo ck FIPS
Quick Start Guide
SHIFT button
1
UNLOCK button
2
4
LOCK button
3
LED Indicator lights
4
3
When you rst plug in the FIPS Padlock, the unit will do a self-test to verify all security components
2
are working properly. The LEDs will go through 3 test stages
RED, GREEN, and BLUE. This
1
will be followed by three GREEN ashes on a successful test. Any test failure will leave the unit in an interoperable state with the RED
First Time Use
Before the Padlock can be used, the Admin PIN MUST be set. The LED will display Solid BLUE and Blinking GREEN to indicate the Padlock is waiting for a PIN to be set.
To Set-up the Admin PIN:
1. Press UNLOCK + 9. The LED will be Solid BLUE / Blinking GREEN.
2. Enter the new Admin PIN and press UNLOCK key. If accepted the LED will ash
3. Re-enter the Admin PIN and press the UNLOCK key. If accepted the GREEN
4. LED will then turn BLUE and remain in Admin mode for 30 seconds or if the
5. The Admin PIN is now set and will allow access to the drive or the Admin features.
6. To UNLOCK the drive, enter the new PIN and press UNLOCK.
LED ashing.
BLUE followed by 3 short blinks of the GREEN LED.
LED will be Solid for 3 seconds.
LOCK key is pressed, will return the drive to a standby state.
*Note: PINs must be a minimum length of 7 maximum 16.
Cannot contain all consecutive numbers (2345678 or 8901234)
Cannot contain all same number (1111111)
The SHIFT key can be used for additional combinations.
SHIFT + 1 are a separate value than just 1.
If none of the LEDs turn on or the drive locks when writing to the disk, use the included USB Y-cable.
Refer to directions on the following page
4
5

Connecting with the USB Y-Cable

Aegis Fortress Keypad Panel
If none of the Aegis Fortress LEDs power on a single USB connection, use the included USB Y-cable.
1. Attach the Aegis Fortress’s integrated USB cable to the female connector
of the USB Y-cable.
2. Connect the two male USB connectors to two available USB ports on
your computer.
3. At least one of the Aegis Fortress LEDs should turn on, indicating that
the Aegis Fortress is powered.
When you rst plug in the FIPS Fortress, the unit will do a self-test to verify all security
components are working properly. The LEDs will go through 3 test stages RED, GREEN, and BLUE. This will be followed by three GREEN ashes on a successful test. Any test failure will leave the unit in an inoperable state indicated by a ashing RED LED.
1
2
4
3
4
3
CONFIGURABLE
2
1

First Time Use

Before the Fortress can be used, the Admin PIN MUST be set. Both the BLUE and GREEN LEDs glowing constantly indicate that the Admin PIN has yet to be established.
To Set-up the Admin PIN:
Plug device into USB Port. Both the BLUE and GREEN LEDs will glow steadily.
Press
1. Enter the series of numbers that you will use for the Admin PIN and press the
3. The drive is now in Admin mode where Admin features can be set (e.g., adding a User.)
4. If no further user(s) or functions are to be added, you can exit the Admin mode by pressing the
PINs must be a minimum length of 7 and a maximum of 16 digits. By default,
Cannot contain all consecutive numbers (2345678 or 9876543) Cannot contain all same number (1111111) The SHIFT key can be used for additional combinations.
SHIFT + 1 are a separate value than just 1.
+ 9 at the same time. The BLUE LED will glow steadily and the GREEN LED will blink.
2. Re-enter that same PIN and press the second, then replaced by the BLUE LED glowing steadily.
button and the drive will return to the locked standby state. If no action is taken within 30
seconds, the drive will return to its locked sleep state.
* GREEN LED will blink if the PIN is accepted; If the PIN is NOT accepted, the RED LED will blink-- see PIN requirements below.
minimum is set to 7, but can be programmed to be up to 16 for enhanced security.
button again. The GREEN LED will illuminate for one
First ensure that the device to be
congured has the “congurable”
logo on the belly label. Also, DO NOT perform the following Manual Admin and USER PIN SETUP steps below;
The Aegis Congurator will only
recognize devices in their factory
“out of box” state or devices that
have been completely reset.
NOTE: if you are using the
Aegis Congurator to set
up your Aegis Fortress,
SHIFT button
UNLOCK button
LOCK button
LED Indicator lights
button.*
6
7

LED States and Their Meaning

Locking the Drive

No LEDs Drive locked, power switch is off, device unplugged
Blinking RED Error / incorrect button entry; Mode Not Available;
User PIN Change
Solid RED Locked / Standby state; Awaiting PIN entry
Blinking GREEN Button-entry accepted
Solid BLUE / Blinking GREEN
Solid BLUE Admin Mode
Solid GREEN Drive unlocked
Slow Blinking BLUE Drive unlocked in Lock-Override Mode
Solid GREEN / Slow Blinking RED
Alternating
RED / BLUE
One second of RED followed by one second of GREEN followed by one second of BLUE
Three Seconds of Solid RED / GREEN
Waiting for New User or Admin PIN to be established
Drive unlocked in Read-Only Mode
Indicates a mode has been entered that can result in the deletion of a User or the data on the drive (depending on the mode chosen.) Also used when setting Auto-lock feature
Self-test mode (automatically occurs during key startup) ensures all components are ready and working properly
During Reset Process, indicates successful resetting of cryptographic security parameters
To lock the drive, press the button. When successfully locked, The RED LED will glow steadily, indicating that it’s returned to its standby state.
If data is still being written to the drive, the Fortress will wait until all data has been written to the drive and then it will lock automatically.
Note: The Aegis Fortress will not be recognized by any operating system in its standby state.

Unlocking the Drive

Enter either a User PIN or Admin PIN and press the button. If the PIN is accepted, the
GREEN LED will blink three times, then will rapidly blink for a short time, followed by steady
glowing, indicating that it’s now unlocked and ready for use. If the PIN is incorrect, the RED LED will blink.

Admin Mode

To set up any of the drive’s Admin functions and features, the Admin mode must rst be
entered. Once in the Admin mode, each of the drive’s functions can be addressed with the appropriate button commands. Also note that while in the Admin mode, the actual data on the drive will not be accessible.
To return to the Admin mode for future setups, perform the following steps below.
1. Press and hold (This indicates that the drive is prepared to accept the correct Admin PIN.)
2. Enter the Admin PIN and press the
3. Successfully entering the Admin Mode is indicated by a solid BLUE LED.
4. To exit the Admin Mode, either allow 30 seconds of inactivity or press the
+ 0 for ve seconds until the RED LED blinks.
button.
button.

Changing the Admin PIN

Changes to the Admin PIN can only be made while the drive is in the Admin mode.
1. Enter the Admin mode. (Hold the Admin PIN and press the button.) The BLUE LED will glow steadily.
2. Press UNLOCK + 9. The BLUE LED will glow steadily and the GREEN LED will blink.
3. Enter the new Admin PIN and press the three times.
4. Re-enter the new Admin PIN and press the for two seconds and then return to the Admin mode, indicated by the BLUE LED glowing steadily.
8
+ 0 for ve seconds – with the RED LED blinking, enter
button. The GREEN LED will blink
button. The GREEN LED will glow steadily
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