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A way to bypass whole disk encryption
03 Mar 2008Researchers at Princeton University have found a way around whole disk encryption. Dubbed the “cold-boot attack”, apparently there’s a way to “freeze” the whole disk encryption passphrase while it’s stored in dynamic memory and then extract it using some software they’ve written. Having learned and applied what can be done with/to a PC at the chip level in my assembly language programming days, this comes as no shocker. Wish it would’ve come out when I was helping to write Laptop Encryption For Dummies. 😉
With all the problems associated with laptop insecurities, this type of attack opens up a whole new can of worms. Will this lead to encryption override attacks down the road? It wouldn’t surprise me. A greater focus on hardware hacks? You bet.
Don’t you know the marketing wheels at the encryption solution companies are going full blast right about now!
Man, I love innovation. Good job security for us too…
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I’ve written/co-written 12 books on information security including:
