Re: List of Full Disc Encryption products

[Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers <bugtraq () planetcobalt net>]

On 2006-07-05 Eric Furman wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Jul 2006 09:04:34 -0700, "Saqib Ali" said:
> > With recent data thefts and government mandates, the importance of
> > full disc encryption is being realized. Encrypting individual files or
> > storing data in encrypted vaults does NOT meet the security
> > requirements anymore. Corporation and Government institution want the
> > whole HDD to be encrypted including the temporary files and swap
>
> When are people going to stop learning the *wrong* lesson every time
> some incident like this happens? The answer is *not* encryption.
> Given physical access to a machine, even with full disk encryption,
> I do not trust that the data cannot be retrieved somehow.
> The real answer is sensitive data should not ever ever ever be on
> a machine that is not fully physically secure all the time.
> I'm tired of these nonsense disk encryption discussions.
> Disk encryption is *not* mature technology, no matter what
> some vendor might tell you. It puts your data at risk and gives
> you a false sense of security.
> If some disk encryption 'experts', disagree, then flame on.
> I'll stick with physical security.

Disk encryption is no nonsense, and the only "wrong" lessons to be
learned there are to believe that encryption was either superfluous or
a silver bullet. Physical security and encryption aren't mutually
exclusive, though for some reason you seem to believe that. Encryption
helps when your physical security gets compromised. Encryption also
helps in situations where you can't enforce physical security (e.g. on
notebooks). And no, you can't always avoid storing sensitive data on
devices that aren't physically secured.

However, you are right that encryption may put one's data at risk when
implemented inappropriately, but these risks can be mitigated.

Regards
Ansgar Wiechers
-- 
"All vulnerabilities deserve a public fear period prior to patches
becoming available."
--Jason Coombs on Bugtraq

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