Forwarded From: Kjell Wooding <kwoodingat_private> http://www.codetalker.com/ Data Fellows to Announce Very Strong Crypto Program NewsBytes 29-MAY-98 SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1998 MAY 29 (Newsbytes) -- By Craig Menefee, Newsbytes. Computer security firm Data Fellows plans to announce Monday a very strong encryption utility with centralized administration for both desktop and laptop PCs running Windows 95/98/NT, Newsbytes learned. Among other features, the F-Secure FileCrypto program will allow key recovery in either of two very secure encryption modes. A file-oriented utility, F-Secure FileCrypto will use on-the-fly, transparent encryption to protect all or designated parts of a Windows file tree. Users have a choice of Triple-DES or the 256-bit-key Blowfish algorithm that some cryptographers have called one of the best systems now available. While Blowfish uses true 256-bit keys, Triple-DES passes data through the same US Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm three times using a 56-bit key. For arcane cryptographic reasons the total effective key length what mathematicians describe as a minimum of 112 bits, rather than the 168 bits as one might expect. "The important thing to remember is that both systems have been around for a long time," said Petri Laakkonen, president of the Helsinki firm's North America operation in Silicon Valley. "They have both been well scrutinized and these implementations are very secure." FileCrypto uses a very random key kernel based, among other things, on mouse movements made by the user during setup. According to Laakkonen, the result has a degree of randomness close to that of keys generated by noisy diodes or true random number tables. This kernel is used to generate individual keys for each file encrypted, so in a worst case scenario where the key is grabbed electronically in some manner, it will work only on a single file. The random key kernel is kept in a separate file that can be stored on a floppy disk. If the kernel is lost or destroyed, the key recovery utility can be used to generate it, so for example laptops will not be in danger of data loss. Laakkonen says Data Fellows is working on smart card key storage as well. Unless the user takes extra steps, all data stored on the hard drive -- including working temporary files -- are encrypted. As a result, neither loss of battery power on a laptop nor a power outage in the office will leave unencrypted data on the drive. In use, the program interfaces through Windows Explorer. There, users choose which directory trees or individual files to exempt from encryption. However, Laakkonen told Newsbytes, the data manipulation is done using low-level drivers and so is too fast for the overhead to be noticed. The program will be available the first week of July, said Laakkonen, starting at $99 for a single license and dropping sharply for multiple orders. The firm maintains a site on the World Wide Web at http://www.DataFellows.com . -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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