Tech Correspondent: Hidden Encrypted Partition in your Office Computer for your secret project

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Hidden Encrypted Partition in your Office Computer for your secret project

I was on vacation in October and received a call from by boss to share my password with him. He wanted to take some reports from my system at office. He shared my password with one of my colleague who is not very happy with me. While taking out the report he saw few personal secret project I was pursuing. I was doing it for the overall process improvement and then I will show this in my annual appraisal as my achievements and initiative taken.

He picked up my project files, modified it when I was away in vacation and published it as his work. This prompted me to look for some open source tool to encrypt my files. And fortunately I found one "TrueCrypt", which has delivered more than I was expecting. I use XP at office and Linux and XP at home and I do not have any problem as TrueCrypt supports Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Here are some of the features of TrueCrypt.

1.Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.
2. Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.
3. Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).
4. Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.
5. Provides two levels of plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password:
1) Hidden volume (steganography) and hidden operating system.
2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (volumes cannot be distinguished from random data).
6. Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: XTS.

The encryption technology AES used in this is also vouched by NSA (US National Security Agency and they have confirmed that this technology can be used to encrypt the classified information upto the Top Secret level. This is applicable to all U.S. Government Departments or Agencies that are considering the acquisition or use of products incorporating the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to satisfy Information Assurance requirements associated with the protection of national security systems and/or national security information.
Well now at least I can enjoy my next vacation in March without any tension of the peeping toms at office.