5/15/2024 0 Comments Sookasa encrypted hard drive![]() ![]() In this example, assuming the OS is Windows, the core.dll files, executables, user settings, the registry, and even the swap file would be protected. If this encryption is extended to the operating system itself, as shown in figure 4, all of the OS bits are encrypted as well as the data that the OS creates temporary or permanent. This section of the disk is safe because we assume that whatever means of encryption employed are sufficiently robust enough to make encrypted data essentially inaccessible to unintended users. In Figure 3, only the user s files and the directories they ve created are encrypted. Because this system has no encryption implemented, all sections of the disk are vulnerable: the boot sector, the operating system, and the user data. In Figure 2, the sections of the disk shown in yellow are unencrypted. Disk encryption schemes protect some or all of these areas of the disk but are commonly divided into two basic types: file/folder encryption and full disk encryption (FDE). The hard drive spans three high-level uses: boot area, operating system area, and user file and directory area. In the case of a PC (notebook, server, or desktop it doesn t matter), the most obvious place to start is the hard drive. Full Disk When considering data encryption in a computing environment, it is important to think about where data is stored and accessed and how those areas are protected with common encryption techniques. Even internal corporate documents, such as security policy and processes, need to be kept private. Federal litigation (such as Sarbanes/Oxley) puts the responsibility of data protection on both the end user and the corporate officer, with dire consequences if that protection is insufficient. The sheer volume of these data intrusions are now driving changes to corporate policy and legal governance, demanding solutions to the problem. Instead of wanting to impress their peers, hackers today are out to compromise a system and steal sensitive (and valuable) data, which they can then sell to the highest bidder. Computer hacking has graduated from an annoyance to big business. Even systems that are kept in close control by their owners are vulnerable. There are many publicized examples of mobile workers losing a notebook that contains sensitive information like client Social Security numbers, credit card information, and even business research and intelligence. Plain text Cipher text ROT13 H E L L O U R Y Y B ROT13 isn t very sophisticated, but it illustrates a key principle found in all encryption/decryption methods: Input (plain text) [ Encryption Engine/Processing [ Output (cipher text) Figure 1: Simple Encryption 1ΔΆ result, the target of theft has moved from the notebooks themselves to the data stored on them. As a A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The arrows show the prescribed letter replacement: A is replaced with N (and a is replaced with n case doesn t matter). Today, it is normal for the dollar value of the data on a storage device to be more valuable than the hardware itself sometimes, a lot more valuable. In the past, thieves would steal laptop notebooks for the pure value of the notebook. Factors Driving Adoption More and more data storage applications are adopting and even requiring encrypted solutions, especially in mobile computing. There are many well known, proven encryption mechanisms, and most operate in a similar manner. In the classic ROT13 method, each letter in the plain text is substituted with a corresponding letter 13 places further ahead in the alphabet. This substitution follows fixed rules that are known to the recipient of the cipher text so that the message can be decrypted. In rotation encryptions like ROT13, values in the original, unencrypted message (plain text) are substituted for new values, which creates the encrypted message (cipher text). Simple Encryption Example: ROT13 One of the simplest (and oldest) encryption mechanisms is rotation. Methods of encrypting data range from the simple (ROT13), to the complex (ENIGMA), to the extremely complex and robust (AES). FebruWhat is Encryption? In its simplest form, encryption is a mechanism used to obscure data from any unintended audiences. ![]() 1 Jon Tanguy Senior SSD Technical Marketing Engineer Micron Technology, Inc.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |