DigiSafe adds smartcard to encrypting hard drive

Encryption firm DigiSafe has unveiled what it claims is the world's first encrypting hard drive enclosure with smartcard protection. 

The DiskCrypt Mobile unit, on show at CeBIT in Hanover, is not much bigger than most hard drive enclosures and sports a keypad and smart card reader slot in addition to the usual collection of ports.

The keypad feature ensures that key-loggers cannot be used to record the Pin to gain access to the drive.

Users are required to insert the smartcard and enter the correct Pin before the hard drive will activate, and all data on the drive is encrypted on-the-fly.

The enclosure is designed for any standard 2.5in hard drive and supports 64-bit DES, 128-bit 3DES and 192-bit 3DES encryption.

Ng Koon Yeow, technical manager at DigiSafe, said that the system of using Pin and smartcard together is designed to give a level of protection equivalent to using an ATM.

"You need to insert the smartcard, something you have, but you also need to key in a Pin, something you know, before the drive becomes accessible," he said.

DigiSafe also showcased a range of data protection systems such as KeyCrypt, a USB key that can be used to protect notebooks and other mobile devices.

If the mobile computer is rebooted, the system requests the KeyCrypt USB stick which contains a code key and password before starting the operating system. Only if both are correct does the computer start.

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