Security Basics mailing list archives
Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE)
From: "Rob Thompson" <my.security.lists () gmail com>
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 12:21:29 -0800
On Oct 23, 2007 9:34 AM, Bill Stout <billbrietstout () yahoo com> wrote:
S, How to defeat full disk encryption: Boot up
I must be missing something here... Boot up? Do you mean authenticate to the encryption scheme? Or do you mean, just turning on the power? Great, you've booted the computer, if the disk was encrypted, you would have had to know the password to allow the boot process to continue. The data is still secured physically on the disk though. Any good encryption program, worth its weight in gold, encrypts and decrypts, on the fly. Just because you signed into the computer doesn't mean that the disks are now decrypted. It means that now you can access them. If I am thinking in a wrong direction for your explanation, please explain further. Full disk encryption is a very secure and IMO the only real way to secure your hard drive. Just encrypting a few files here and there is not adequate. Windows makes more temporary files than I think a lot of people realize and when you encrypt that file in it's folder and then access it, do you really think that it's going to just keep a copy there? Nope, now you have an unencrypted copy laying around in a temp directory on your hard drive.
A workmate reminded me that the disk is decrypted during startup by the decryption drivers. It's an all or nothing deal.
That is not correct. The disk is not decrypted. (If it is, you are using the wrong product.) -- Rob
Current thread:
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Tim A. (Dec 06)
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers (Dec 06)
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Tim A. (Dec 06)
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers (Dec 06)
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Tim A. (Dec 06)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Rob Thompson (Dec 06)
- Re: Laptop - Full Disk Encryption? (Booting defeats FDE) Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers (Dec 06)