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Locking Down Your Data with Cipher Shield External Hard Drive Encryption
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1. External Drive Data Encryption With Cipher Shield's USB Hard Drive

How safe is your data on an external hard drive? While some models are protected from physical damage , all are more or less sitting ducks for a thief who manages to get his hands on the device and to then access the data.

Cipher Shield offers a number of different solutions for external storage devices with 1.8", 2.5" and 3.5" hard drives, depending on whether the user seeks mobility or capacity. The Cipher Key, which comes with the Cipher Shield, is the actual (removable) device that - once connected to the hard drive - is responsible for encrypting and decrypting the data in real time. The encryption is available in 40, 64, 128 bit DES (Data Encryption Standard) or 192 bit TDES.

2. Our Test Candidate: Cipher Shield, 40 GB, 40 Bit

We tested the 2.5" version with a capacity of 40 GB out of 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB or 80 GB options. The company provided us with two 40 bit removable hardware keys for our review. The hard drive used here is Toshiba's MK4025GAS with 4200 rpm.

The sleek design impressed us. The casing is made out of aluminum and magnesium. Because the power supply included in the package can handle from 90 to 264 Volts, the Cipher Shield can be used worldwide, provided that you carry the necessary adaptor plug with you. And if you don't, the DC adapter is only necessary if the Cipher Shield is connected to a USB 1.1 port. The moment the Cipher Shield is connected with a USB 2.0 port, though, all the power you need is guaranteed through the interface - that's what we call mobility!

Two LEDs are located on the front side. The upper one indicates the type of USB connection that is in use and whether the external power supply is necessary or not - orange means USB 1.1, green means USB 2.0.

3. Ports

We found all of the connections on the back side: the USB port is located next to the one for the power supply, and the one that the Cipher Key fits into is just a bit to the right. In order to keep development costs down, the manufacturer did not develop its own interface, so it fell back on FireWire (1394a).

Accessories Included

Included in the package are a full range switching DC adapter (which is only necessary if the older USB 1.1 port is used), the Cipher Shield itself, a 1.80m USB cable, a user manual in English and the two Cipher Keys.

4. Playing It Safe: Registering The Encryption Key

Cipher Shield lets you register the keys in case you lose them. If the keys ever do get lost, customers can contact Cipher Shield (www.ciphershield.com) for replacement keys.

Setup: Plug And Play

The Cipher Shield is very simple to operate and user-friendly. All you have to do is connect the included cable to a free USB port on your computer. Within seconds WindowsXP identifies a USB mass storage device and lists the Cipher Shield as a hard drive in the Device Manager. The hard drive was correctly identified as a Toshiba MK4025GAS and we were immediately granted access.

Locking Device: Unplugged, Yet Safe!

The moment you pull out the Cipher Key, access to the hard drive is denied immediately - the hard drive vanishes from the list in the Device Manager. If you insert the key again, Cipher Shield is instantly recognized and ready to use.

Software Encryption: An Alternative?

It is also possible to encrypt data through the use of software like PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). Software has one great disadvantage, though: encryption keys or passwords have to be stored somewhere because they are too long to remember.

Unfortunately, this also means that wherever data is stored, it can be read, copied and - if worst comes to worst - stolen. If the encryption key isn't changed regularly, unauthorized users can either get their hands on important data or change the key as they wish. With Cipher Shield, unauthorized users would first have to get their hands on the hands on the hardware key in order to access the encryption key. If the user notices that this is missing, he or she can at least lock up the Cipher Shield until an alternative is found.

5. Test Configuration
Hardware
Processor Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz
256 kB L2 Cache (Willamette)
Motherboard Intel 845EBT
Intel 845E Chipset
BIOS BT84520A.86A.0024.P10
Memory 256 MB DDR/PC2100, CL2.0
Micron/Crucial
Controller i845E UltraDMA/100 Controller (ICH4)
On-Board USB 2.0 (ICH4)
On-Board FireWire
Graphics Card ATI Radeon SDRAM, 32 MB
Network 3COM 3C905TX PCI, 100 MBit/s
OS Windows XP Professional 5.10.2600,
Service Pack 1
Benchmarks & Measurements
Performance Measurements ZD WinBench 99 2.0
Disk Inspection Test
c't h2benchw 3.0
Graphics Driver 5.1.2001.0 (Windows XP Standard)
Chipset Driver Intel Chipset Installation Utility
5.1.1.1002
DirectX Version 9.0b
Screen Resolution 1024x768, 16 Bit, 85 Hz refresh

Benchmark Results

Data Transfer Diagram


6. Benchmark Results, Continued

7. Conclusion

The Cipher Shield provides a reliable solution to lock down your external drive data against theft. We were very pleased with its performance. The encryption mechanism has no direct influence on the performance of the hard drive itself. Since there are very few 2.5" products on the market, the Cipher Shield had to compete against many 3.5" models, but it managed to hold its ground.

Since barely anyone will want to launch larger applications directly from an external hard drive, the access times play a minor role. And the transfer rates are restricted through the USB anyway.

We advise against using the version with 40 bit encryption, however, because 64 bit keys in today's PCs can be hacked in no time. Therefore, customers who are serious about security should purchase a device with 128 bit encryption. Unfortunately, the price is very steep: about $300 for a 40 GB hard drive is a lot - even with these features. And the price here only includes the 40 bit keys that we tested.