Create a hardware encrypting USB with your own Linux OS
SPYRUS announced the Secure Pocket Drive (SPD) Build Your Own Linux Program with its Secure Pocket Drive bootable USB product line.
Secure Pocket Drive is a secure trusted endpoint that augments a worker’s desktop and provides a secure computing environment on the Internet or for cloud computing applications. The SPD Build Your Own Linux Program includes a set of unique SPD Linux Builder Utilities, which gives users the ability to create and manage their own personal, portable, and secure Linux operating environment.
The SPD Linux Builder Utilities contain everything an administrator or user would require to configure and manage the Secure Pocket Drive with the Linux operating system environment. The software includes a security initialization utility that generates new cryptographic keys in the SPD hardware, sets password and logon policies, and locks/unlocks the encrypted compartment as needed for updating the operating system or applications.
In addition, “admin utilities” are provided to reset the user password by the administrator and to change the administrator password when required. Finally, Microsoft Windows and Linux compatible utilities are provisioned directly on the boot compartment of the SPD to allow the user to manage their password.
Secure Pocket Drive with your favorite version of Red Hat, Ubuntu, SLAX, or SE Linux is bootable on almost any Wintel or Apple Macintosh desktop or laptop. This makes it ideal for individual home users and supports enterprise BYOD initiatives, such as teleworking, traveling “road warriors,” continuity of operations and disaster recovery, and temporary workers.
Secure Pocket Drive can be set up in two different configurations. The Read-Only Configuration is a hardware-enforced read-only USB which does not persistently save any data to the Linux operating environment, similar to a CDROM, and helps prevent the transfer of malware from the machine it is booting from. The Read-Writable Configuration has the capability to run productivity applications such as OpenOffice, and allows for storing data persistently to the encrypted compartment. Both configurations can be used online when connected to a network or the internet or offline with no network.
Both configurations employ the same Suite B On Board hardware security infrastructure that is built into the SPYRUS Hydra Privacy Card family. All Secure Pocket Drives use only digitally signed memories by SPYRUS. Moreover, hardware-based XTS-AES 256-bit full disk encryption (NIST SP800-38E) encrypts and secures the operating system, applications, and data on the drive. SPD also has built-in security checks that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to break into the drive without rendering it inoperable to the hacker.
The SPYRUS SPD Build Your Own Linux Program is extremely cost-effective. Users can expect to realize hardware refresh savings and increased security, as they will be able to reuse existing personally owned computers. The SPD boots quickly and easily from older computers that have been running Windows XP, even without a hard drive, to extend return on investment on these unused assets.
With the SPYRUS SPD Build Your Own Linux Program, multiple SPYRUS patents are used to lock the Linux OS to the device and provide cryptographic protection against modification to the boot loader and the operating system. The patented methods enforce on-the-fly integrity validation to enable fast and secure boot-up and enhance the user experience without suffering the performance or vulnerability penalties incurred by other bootable products. The patented Secure Pocket Drive was designed from the ground up with strong FIPS 140-2 Level 3 hardware, US Government-approved, next-generation cryptographic algorithms, and extensive built-in self-checking functionality to protect the device, the operating system, and the user.
SPYRUS will be previewing its Secure Pocket Drive for Linux at RSA Conference 2013 in San Francisco.