User manual

ROCSECURE – Rocsafe MX User Manual

What are the advantages of hardware-based full disk encryption over software encryption solutions?

• Unlike existing software solutions, Rocsafe MX encrypts every single byte and sector of the hard drive. This

means all temporary files, all partitions and even the boot sector is encrypted

• One major disadvantage of existing software disk encryption products is that they are Operating System

(mostly Windows) dependent. Rocsafe MX is independent of the OS or the host system BIOS and thus support

any OS.

• Rocsafe MX does not involve any tedious and error-prone software installation and configuration. Just plug

Rocsafe MX in the computer, authenticate yourself and you are ready to go.

• Once installed, Rocsafe MX does not require any maintenance or patches thus reducing the total cost of

ownership of the product.

• There are also no performance overheads due to encryption/decryption of data, unlike software-based

solutions.

What happens when Rocsafe MX malfunctions?

Every Rocsafe MX is subjected to a stringent quality assurance process prior to shipment. However, hard drives

installed in Rocsafe MX still have a limited lifetime. As such, users are advised to backup their data regularly. The

encryption key is stored securely in the included smart cards. In the event that Rocsafe MX malfunctions, the data

in the drive will still be readable as long as the smart cards are present. Simply install your drive in another Rocsafe

MX of the same encryption key length, initialize your card(s), and you may use the new Rocsafe MX as per normal.

Is the boot sector also encrypted?

Yes, Rocsafe MX employs full disk encryption (FDE), meaning every single byte and sector of your hard drive is

encrypted.

Does encryption decrease drive performance?

No. The on-the-fly hardware encryption engine in Rocsafe MX is faster than the data transfer rate of the SATA

interface, and thus does not incur any performance overhead, nor require any additional CPU resources.

How strong is the encryption of Rocsafe MX Mobile?

Rocsafe MX offers AES encryption scheme with a key-strength of either 128 bits or 256 bits.

Can the PIN be changed later without data loss?

Yes, the smart card PIN may be easily changed during the time of authentication without any data loss. Please note

that PINs are smart card specific so changing the PIN with one smart card does NOT automatically change the PIN

of another.