Today, full-system encryption in software is feasible and practical. Here's how to get up and running using solutions from PGP, McAfee, Sophos, and open-source options TrueCrypt and DiskCryptor. There was a time, not all that long ago, when a fully-encrypted system disk was something only for people with money to burn. . You bought a special disk controller which performed hardware-based encryption, and then trusted the hardware vendor to make sure everything was implemented properly -- e.g., that they were using a good algorithm, that the key size for the encryption wasn't laughably short, and so on. Today, full-system encryption in software is both feasible and practical -- although how practical will depend on the workload involved. But it's not a security silver bullet, much as it might seem to be from the outside. It can, and does, add a layer of protection that greatly reduces the risk of data compromise in the event hardware is lost or stolen. But that protection depends entirely on how it's implemented, and whether or not the user's been educated in the way an encrypted system works. The link for this article located at Information Week is no longer available. . Explore robust strategies for complete drive encryption utilizing both commercial and community-driven applications to improve information safety.. full System Encryption, Software Encryption Options, Disk Encryption Best Practices, Open Source Encryption, Data Security. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Full disk encryption (FDE) systems use strong encryption algorithms to automatically protect all data stored on the hard drives of PCs and laptop computers. Users can access the data via an authentication device, such as a password, token or smart card. This enables the system to retrieve the key that decrypts the disk. On many systems, functions such as key management, access control, lock-outs, reporting and recovery are all managed centrally. . According to John Girard, an analyst at Gartner, the main differences among available products derive from their varying approaches to management, encryption strength, user authentication, policy management and value-added features, such as protection of information on removable media. Here we'll look at two prime considations in selecting encryption solutions, as well as dos and don'ts suggested by veterans of encryption implementation. The link for this article located at CSO Online is no longer available. . When implementing full disk encryption, blend expert advice with best practices. Follow essential dos and don’ts to effectively secure sensitive data.. Full Disk Encryption, Data Protection Strategies, Key Management Best Practices. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
If you are developing a password-protected web site, you have to make a decision about how to store user password information securely. What is "secure," anyway? Realize that the data in your database is not safe. What if the password to the database is compromised? Then your entire user password database will be compromised as well. Even if you are quite certain of the security of your database, your users' passwords are still accessible to all administrators who work at the Web hosting company where your database is hosted. Scrambling the passwords using some home-brewed algorithm may add some obscurity but not true "security." Another approach would be to encrypt all passwords in your database using some industry-standard cipher, such as the Message-Digest Algorithm 5 (MD5). . MD5 encryption is a one-way hashing algorithm. Two important properties of the MD5 algorithm are that it is impossible to revert back an encrypted output to the initial, plain-text input, and that any given input always maps to the same encrypted value. This ensures that the passwords stored on the server cannot be deciphered by anyone. This way, even if an attacker gains reading permission to the user table, it will do him no good. The link for this article located at Web Cheat Sheet is no longer available. . MD5 hashing, though not the most secure, provides fast performance, fixed output size, easy implementation, and compatibility with legacy systems for password storage. MD5 Encryption, Secure Passwords, Hashing Techniques. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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