Archive for 14. November 2008

USB Encryption Methods

14. November 2008 by David Peterson.

USB encryption methods are going to be a hot topic over the next few years. Today the most advanced encryption readily available is AES256. AES256 is the current standard of cryptographic algorithm used by the U.S. Government. This encryption can be applied to USB flash drives.

 

There are several companies currently offering some form of encryption for your USB flash memory device. These encryption methods can be quite complicated. Before deciding on purchasing one you have to ask… What will I be encrypting?

 

Here are some of the many choices:

  • I want to encrypt the data that is on my USB device just in case I lose it.
  • I don’t want people to know where I have been surfing.
  • I don’t want my identity exposed.
  • I don’t want my passwords stored on the device.
  • I want my passwords encrypted.
  • I don’t want to enter passwords every time.
  • I need my email encrypted.
  • I don’t want encryption I just want the drive password protected.
  • I need simplicity.
  • I need it to work every time it is plugged into the port.

You can see from the choices above that there is a lot to encrypting data. As an example if you have super sensitive information stored on the drive then do you really want your passwords stored on the same drive? If you lose it and the right person picks it up then they may be able to use “brute force” password guessing software to retrieve the data off the drive.

 

Here are two products that offer AES256 encryption. They do it in two totally different ways. One e-Capsule uses software that you load on the drive and the other IronKey uses the drive like a piece of hardware.

 

Software encryption:

e-Capsule™ Private Safe USB-U3 (Starts at around $35/unit)

 

Hardware encryption:

Ironkey.com (Starts at around $79/unit)

 

Which is best for you? It depends, you may want every security option available but in the end you may not have the expertise to make the device work efficiently for your tasks. Look at it this way - if the USB flash memory becomes a pain for your employees they will probably stop using it.

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