18
Setting a Self-Destruct PIN
For certain users, it’s important to have a “last-resort” level of security where sensitive
data falling into the wrong hands must be avoided. The Padlock SSD’s Self-Destruct PIN
defends against physically compromising situations by erasing the key’s contents, leaving
it to look as if it never had any data written to it.
*USE WITH CAUTION*
When this mode
is activated and the device is unlocked with the Self-Destruct PIN, it will effectively perform
a crypto-erase on the key, deleting all of its data. Additionally, the encryption key will be
deleted and a new encryption key will be created to take its place. When this Self-Destruct
PIN is deployed, the device will unlock and the
GREEN
LED will glow solidly as if it is being
normally unlocked. The device, however, will need to be partitioned and formatted before it
can be used again. The previous Admin and User codes will be deleted in the crypto-erase
and the Self-Destruct PIN will then become the new Admin PIN to unlock the device.
The self-destruct PIN can be set by either the Admin or the User. If the Admin sets the self-
destruct PIN, only the Admin can disable or change the PIN. If the User sets the self-destruct
PIN, both the User and the Admin can change or overwrite the PIN.
Note: The Self-Destruct PIN must be different from all other PINs i.e. Admin PIN,
User PINs, Recovery PINs.
1. By default, the Self-Destruct feature is disabled. To allow the Padlock SSD to be set
with a Self-Destruct PIN, Enter the Admin mode. (Hold
+ 0
for five seconds – with
RED
LED blinking, enter the Admin PIN and press the button.) The
BLUE
LED will
glow steadily.
2. Press the
7 + 4
buttons
together*. The
GREEN
LED will blink three times and at this
point, the Self Destruct PIN can now be set by the Admin while the drive is in the Admin
mode, or it can be set up at another time by the User (after the drive is unlocked with
the User PIN) with the following steps.
3. Press
3
for five seconds. The
RED
and
BLUE
LEDs will blink alternately.
4. Enter the Self-Destruct PIN and press . The
GREEN
LED will blink three times and
then will return to
RED
and
BLUE
LEDs blinking alternately.
5. Re-enter the Self-Destruct PIN and press . The
GREEN
LED will glow steadily for
three seconds and then will return to either the Admin mode (indicated by the
BLUE
LED glowing steadily) or the unlocked state if created by User.
*NOTE: To disable / discard a Self-Destruct PIN, Press the
7 + 4
buttons
together for
a second or two; successful disablement / removal will be indicated by three
RED
LED
blinks. To re-enable the Self-Destruct PIN mode, press the
7 + 4
buttons again and
three
GREEN
LED blinks will indicate that it’s ready to accept a new Self-Destruct PIN.
Repeat steps 3 through 5.
