DES adds full disk encryption

Data Encryption Systems will add full disk locking to its security tool later this year

Data Encryption Systems (DES) is to add full disk encryption to its DESlock+ security tool later this year, bringing an extra level of safety for data stored on laptops. Unlike Microsoft’s BitLocker technology, it also provides different levels of access depending on what key each user possesses.

DESlock+ already provides encryption for Windows users at the file and folder level, and its use of shared keys makes it easier to encrypt shared resources, such as network folders. But customers have increasingly been asking for protection at the entire disk level, DES said, and version 4 of the software is set to add this capability later this year.

“Users often leave things on the desktop or in the root of the drive, so if you just encrypt the whole disk, you’re covered,” said DES managing director David Tomlinson. This gives organisations peace of mind that data is secure if a laptop should be lost or stolen, rather than relying on users to manually encrypt files or place sensitive data in an encrypted folder.

But DESlock+ has a unique feature that will keep data secure even from a company’s own IT staff, Tomlinson said. Its use of multiple keys means that a laptop user can have access to their entire disk, while a technician with a different key might have access to system files but not data. Other full disk encryption tools leave the entire disk visible to anyone who logs in with administrator privileges.

“You need an administrator to be able to log onto the finance director’s laptop to apply updates, but would you want them to be able to see his data?” Tomlinson pointed out.

Another key feature of DESlock+ version 4 will be a tool to encrypt the whole drive without booting into Windows. This is designed to enable IT staff to set up full disk encryption speedily. By comparison, Microsoft’s BitLocker performs the same task as a background process and can take several hours.

DESlock+ version 4 is expected to ship in October 2007, and existing users will be entitled to a free upgrade, the company said.