encryption

For the most part, security technology procurement is a struggle as security budgets have always been low and remain under-funded.

Security executives have to justify purchases in terms of business risk--a daunting task for even the most skilled professionals. As the old saying in the security world goes, organizations don't want good security, they want good-enough security. Paying for anything more is often viewed as a waste.

In general, frugal security strategies remain but my colleagues and I at Enterprise Strategy Group see one particular area that bucks this trend--full disk encryption (FDE) for laptops. Many large organizations are … Read more

Digg exploded into riot on Tuesday.

A story was posted that contained the hexadecimal decryption key that allows Linux users to decode and play HD DVDs. The Digg staff received a request from the Advanced Access Content System License Administrator to remove the story, interpreting the request as following the law and as falling under Digg's preexisting terms of use that prohibit the posting of infringing content. Jay Adelson explained this in his blog post at 1 p.m. on May 1.

The Digg user community was not to be silenced, and found a way to route around this … Read more

Computer users may not be hitting any piñatas or streamers to celebrate security software publisher PKWare's 20th birthday, but the software-publisher is hoping that a free full-version giveaway of its security program SecureZip for Windows will make users grin all the same.

The Register reports that "the release of a free version of the product marks the 20th anniversary of the firm and comes at the start of the Infosec conference in London this week."

Best known by CNET Download.com users for the original ZIP-file compression app PKZip, PKWare specializes in enterprise software. It … Read more

Whenever we hear the word "dictation," we recall those cliched movie scenes of executives calling secretaries into their offices to take shorthand. But products like the "Digital Pocket Memo 9600" from Philips remind us how far technology has evolved the practice.

When used with its new docking station, the device can transfer dictations through a local network or the Internet to a transcriptionist or voice-recognition system without a computer, according to Gizmag. Real-time encryption and password protection ensure security, and a bar-code reader can be used to scan patient or client information and attach it directly … Read more

The underlying encryption on both the Blu-ray and HD DVD high-def disc formats has been cracked. That's the word from user arnezami on the Doom9 forums, where anti-DRM denizens have been hacking and slashing their way through the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) encryption algorithm found on all Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Previously, Doom9 user muslix64 had cracked the encryption keys to individual titles, but the newly uncovered "processing key" is said to be the Rosetta Stone for all current titles on both HD disc formats.

We haven't independently verified this crack, but given that … Read more

Passwords are a real pain. It's not so bad dealing with one or two, but once you have five or more log-ins and passwords at various sites, even the sharpest mind will have trouble remembering what goes where. PassPack is a new service that attempts to solve this problem, letting you create a personal archive of log-ins and passwords that can be packed and unpacked with one master password.

After setting up PassPack, you can start plugging in as many accounts as you want. When you're done you can "Pack it up!" using a special packing … Read more

Like most webware fans, I love to play with the cool features at sites such as Splice, Jumpcut, and the like, but most of these Web 2.0 ventures require registration, which in turn requires filling out forms and tracking passwords and log-ins. It's not only Web-based applications and community sites. I often get most frustrated when buying airline tickets or holiday gifts through new online vendors. Typing out my entire address and credit card information is fine a few times, but I have lots of relatives, and the 23rd form gets to be a bit tiring.

In the … Read more

When you hear Los Alamos National Laboratory is disabling its computers' USB ports to prevent people from toting away flash memory drives filled with classified nuclear weapons information, it's not a stretch to imagine that there might be a market for thumb drives with a bit of security.

Enter Lexar's SAFE PSD S1100, a product line announced Monday geared for use at corporate or government customer sites where there's a need to keep the lid on sensitive data.

The drives offer built-in 256-bit file encryption and a mandatory password to gain access to the data. The encryption … Read more

Finally, a storage device we can use while snorkling and hiking up volcanoes.

This week, Kingston Technology released a new line of waterproof and temperature-resistant USB 2.0 flash drives with hardware encryption capability. The titanium-coated stainless steel DataTraveler Secure is available immediately in capacities of 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB and ranging in price from $40 to $244. The device's 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware-based encryption does not require additional software in order for authorized users to encrypt and decrypt information stored on the device.

For the James Bond or Lara Croft in your life recently returning … Read more