Comments on: Keep your data safe with a Data Locker drive http://the-gadgeteer.com/2009/09/07/keep-your-data-safe-with-a-data-locker-drive/ Gadget reviews and news by Julie Strietelmeier and friends since 1997 Sun, 27 May 2012 00:39:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Adam http://the-gadgeteer.com/2009/09/07/keep-your-data-safe-with-a-data-locker-drive/comment-page-1/#comment-42909 Adam Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:40:22 +0000 http://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=21386#comment-42909 These drive+keypad things are a good idea, in theory, because they protect you from keyboard sniffing. In practice, though, they're not very secure. Even if you could remember a random 18-digit numeric password (which you can't), it would only offer 54 bits of security, best-case, so the whole 128/256-bit AES thing is marketing nonsense. Lenovo makes a similar model, which, unfortunately, I own. I took it apart. Based on the chips on the circuit board, it looks like they store the AES key (which may or may not be encrypted) in a non-volatile memory chip on the circuit board. The kind of chip you can de-solder and read. Before I bought the Lenovo, I emailed the Data Locker people. As I recall, it's implemented the same way. Probably better to use TrueCrypt (truecrypt.org) for free. These drive+keypad things are a good idea, in theory, because they protect you from keyboard sniffing. In practice, though, they’re not very secure.

Even if you could remember a random 18-digit numeric password (which you can’t), it would only offer 54 bits of security, best-case, so the whole 128/256-bit AES thing is marketing nonsense.

Lenovo makes a similar model, which, unfortunately, I own. I took it apart. Based on the chips on the circuit board, it looks like they store the AES key (which may or may not be encrypted) in a non-volatile memory chip on the circuit board. The kind of chip you can de-solder and read.

Before I bought the Lenovo, I emailed the Data Locker people. As I recall, it’s implemented the same way.

Probably better to use TrueCrypt (truecrypt.org) for free.

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