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Hi every one,
my question is that , i have a hard disk, which i want no body to have access on. I have both xp and linux installed in it , but the problem is that i dont want that the NTFS patitions and ext3 should be accessible if my hard disk was configured as slave and windows loaded from an other hard drive. is there any possible solution , so that only the one with window and linux password should have access to the data. Thanks alot.
Hi,
I am not sure that I understand you correctly or fully, but I would advise you that if I have physical access to your hard drive then I can get the data off it.
Password protection will not provide physical security. Even encryption can be broken, all you are doing is buying time.
A simple solution is to have removable hard drives and dismount them when not in use and lock them in a secure environment. Basically all you need is a chassis that fits into your 5.25" drive bay and takes a regular 3.5" hard drive. I guess that these cost between $15 and $25.
:)
one way is to use encryptionQuote:
Originally posted here by Hazarawood
Hi every one,
my question is that , i have a hard disk, which i want no body to have access on. I have both xp and linux installed in it , but the problem is that i dont want that the NTFS patitions and ext3 should be accessible if my hard disk was configured as slave and windows loaded from an other hard drive. is there any possible solution , so that only the one with window and linux password should have access to the data. Thanks alot.
Linux: http://www.linux.com/howtos/Disk-Enc...oduction.shtml
Windows: google for disk encryption?
does windows xp have support for drive encryption , what i was able to found about was encryption on file or folder
Hazarawood be careful old chap.
If you encrypt a DRIVE how are you going to open it in Windows, as you will have encrypted that as well? :eek:
I still say that it boils down to physical access.
:)
EDIT: A few questions:
1. Is this the only hard drive on the machine?
2. Do other people use the machine?
3. Do other people have unsupervised physical access to the machine?
4. How important/valuable is the information on this drive? Not so much to you, but to other people?
5. How "current" are the data. By that I mean do the data become valuless after a period of time?
I am trying to do a little risk analysis so that we can suggest a sensible solution. :)
I agree with nihil...If I can get to the box, If I want whats on it, it will be mine. a removeable hard drive would be the way to go.
http://www.ce-infosys.com.sg/CeiProd..._compusec.asp?Quote:
Originally posted here by nihil
Hazarawood be careful old chap.
If you encrypt a DRIVE how are you going to open it in Windows, as you will have encrypted that as well? :eek:
I still say that it boils down to physical access.
:)
EDIT: A few questions:
1. Is this the only hard drive on the machine?
2. Do other people use the machine?
3. Do other people have unsupervised physical access to the machine?
4. How important/valuable is the information on this drive? Not so much to you, but to other people?
5. How "current" are the data. By that I mean do the data become valuless after a period of time?
I am trying to do a little risk analysis so that we can suggest a sensible solution. :)
It depends on the tools that one use to encrypt. he/she have to use back that tool to be able to see what's encrypted.
ghostmachine
I think that you are slightly missing the point? The original question was:
The part in bold is the important bit. This is where the drive, or a copy of it has been put on another machine.Quote:
i have a hard disk, which i want no body to have access on. I have both xp and linux installed in it , but the problem is that i dont want that the NTFS patitions and ext3 should be accessible if my hard disk was configured as slave and windows loaded from an other hard drive
We need to know more details of the environment and the security requirement? For example, Hazarawood has not said if his concern is data theft or data loss?
It is a fundamental rule that nothing that is accessible is absolutely safe. What you try to do is create a situation where the attacker will not be prepared to give the time and resouces required to break it, or will delay them long enough for the data to be useless ;)
thanks, i understand thatQuote:
Originally posted here by nihil
ghostmachine
I think that you are slightly missing the point? The original question was:
The part in bold is the important bit. This is where the drive, or a copy of it has been put on another machine.
We need to know more details of the environment and the security requirement? For example, Hazarawood has not said if his concern is data theft or data loss?
It is a fundamental rule that nothing that is accessible is absolutely safe. What you try to do is create a situation where the attacker will not be prepared to give the time and resouces required to break it, or will delay them long enough for the data to be useless ;)
i was referring to "If you encrypt a DRIVE how are you going to open it in Windows, as you will have encrypted that as well?"
So i said it depends on the tools used.
Sorry for that.
ghostmachine
I was actually referring to this post:
The tool you gave a link to gets round this problem by starting from the BIOS/CMOS?Quote:
does windows xp have support for drive encryption , what i was able to found about was encryption on file or folder
1. You power up and it asks for a password.....................that technology is very old, and easily circumvented.
2. On the next boot, it will get me to the drive decryption password..........which I would already have extracted and cracked...........so I type it in and it loads the operating system and all his files, nicely decrypted for me. ;)
My points were that you cannot decrypt from within an operating system, if you have encryped it as well. And if you allow physical access you have very little security at all.
Supposing in step #2 I booted from a floppy or CD and reformatted his hard drive then overwrote the blank space 7 times? :eek:
This is why I have asked for more information on the security requirement and the environment.
If it is just to stop the office cleaners or security guard playing on your machine whilst you are out, then your tool would probably do just fine.............they will just wander off and find one that isn't protected.
:)
You would probable be interested in this tidd-bit of information.
There is a security solution that basicaly sits between the HD and Mobo and encrypts the data as it comes onto the disk, and decrypts it when it goes to the mobo. The encryption key is stored on a smart-card which makes the disk totaly unbootable without the smartcard. (The circuit on the IDE has a 3.5" port for the smartcard.). I am not sure if this solution if for sale at the moment/ any longer. Though, if you knew a bit about electronics, you could fairly easily make your own, atleast it would deter the more simple of intrustions if home made.
Last I heard it was bringing in military interest, Though I am not sure if this the case any longer.
Although nothing really compares to physically removing the harddrive, you can still have a solid data privacy solution through public key harddrive encryption, or dongle based encryption, for example: h**p://www.winmagic.com/product_info/securedoc/prod_info.asp
Although I have only been using securedoc for a little while now, it is good enough for my needs -- I figure anything that is "certified by the NSA ", is reviewed as a "smart" security product by Bruce Schneier, follows PKCS #11 specs and that has aquired FIPS 140-1 level 2 validation is good enough for me! :rolleyes:
Or, for open source fans out there, AES whole disk encryption is still available with TrueCrypt.
"On-the-fly encryption software, which can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mount it as a real disk. It can also encrypt an entire hard disk partition or a storage device such as USB memory stick. TrueCrypt supports plausible deniability."
h**p://truecrypt.sourceforge.net/
Even PGP Corp. has made a whole disk encryption solution... ironcally enough, called PGP Whole Disk. This product is only available in the desktop professional and universal editions as an "included feature." I haven't seen too many reviews on it, but i have heard it is $199! :eek:
h**p://www.pgp.com/products/desktop/professional/index.html
Nevertheless, while physically removing a harddrive does still remain as the most secure solution, it may not always be the most practical -- i.e.: for laptop users, home users, etc...
Maybe thats because they want you to use it, makes it easier on them :P *Spooky music*Quote:
Originally posted here by click
Although I have only been using securedoc for a little while now, it is good enough for my needs -- I figure anything that is "certified by the NSA ", is reviewed as a "smart" security product by Bruce Schneier, follows PKCS #11 specs and that has aquired FIPS 140-1 level 2 validation is good enough for me! :rolleyes:
Just a thought, is your system all in NTFS? Do you have diferent users? Or they use the same user, with access to all your system.
If your are not under a DC, you can't provide much virtual security to your hard-drive, the best solution would be, to get that box, where you get the hard-drive from your Pc. In my opinion thats the best solutions and the best security you can have at this moment. Even if you encript all of your hard-drive, they can still get around that encription.
This is like that famous question "How can i stop Hackers to hacking my system? or how can i have the ultimate security solution?" The answer is always the same: "Unplug your Pc from the Internet". So if you want security, unplug your hard-drive from your computer.
If you had a DC, you could Virtualy Deny there access to your hard-drive, denying access permissions.