manual

There are other features that can be added to hardware-based encryption. An
example is Smart Chips. Smart Chips do not allow the Flash memory chips to be
removed from a USB drive. If the Flash chips are removed, the data is
automatically deleted
[7]
.
Another feature is Locking & Deletion, which “runs off a separate chip that
deletes and re-writes over the data so it cannot be restored
[7]
.” This situation
happens when the wrong password is given too often.
Although hardware-based encryption is cheaper and safer than software-based
encryption, not all USB drive controllers can support this method. Thus, software-
based encryption is still widely used.
Deciding which encryption method is best for a user is dependent upon the
user’s application. Each approach has its own benefits and drawbacks in relation
to cost, support and implementation.
How Secure is Modern Encryption?
AES, an acronym for “advanced encryption standard,” is the standard for
encryption today. The US government states that “AES is a National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) specification for the encryption of electronic
data. It is expected to become the accepted means of encryption digital
information, including financial, telecommunications and government data
[8]
.” It
has been said that this encryption method will be sufficient to protect data for the
next 20 to 30 years
[8]
.
AES Basics
AES is an iterative, symmetric-key block cipher that can use keys of 3 different
sizes. AES encrypts and decrypts data in blocks of 128 bits. The following shows
the strength of each of the three cipher keys.
Key Size: 128-bit = 10 x (3.4 x 10
38
) possible 128-bit keys
Key Size: 192-bit = 12 x (6.2 x 10
57
) possible 192-bit keys
Key Size: 256-bit = 14 x (1.1 x 10
77
) possible 256-bit keys
“The cipher is specified in terms of repetitions of processing steps that are
applied to make up rounds of keyed transformation between the input plain-text