Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

Hardware AES-encrypted harddrive, cool - but...!

(1/1)

f0dder:
The specifications of the 2.5in. Easy Nova Data Box PRO-25UE RFID[1] hard drive case by German vendor Drecom sound promising: hardware data encryption with 128-bit AES, access control via an RFID chip compact enough to carry around on your key ring and optional 160GB or 250GB hard disk capacity. Swiping the RFID chip along the case causes the integrated Innmax IM7206 crypto controller to reveal the drive as a USB 2.0 mass storage compatible device to the attached computer. This works under Linux and Mac OS X as well as Windows. There's no need for special drivers.
--- End quote ---

Sounds good, doesn't it? Too bad it's the marketing people who've been pushing their snake oil once again.

jgpaiva:
Here's the bottom-line:
These regular repetitions continued, and the almost identical columns of numbers suggest that the 512-byte sectors of your drive are not in fact encrypted with AES, but merely with a constant 512-byte cipher block applied as an XOR (exclusive OR).
--- End quote ---

This is really serious since it's (almost) as good as no encryption at all and definitelly not the encryption advertised!
People who sell this kind of stuff should be prosecuted for fooling their costumers!

Navigation

[0] Message Index