Encryption Blog

The Encryption Blog is where you will find updates on Symantec’s encryption products, commentary on important trends in data protection, and important product-related security alerts and notifications.

• 0

  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 28 Jan 2013

  Symantec Encryption: What's New?

  In the past, it was fairly easy to keep corporate data protected by keeping it within an established perimeter—protected by established access controls and passwords.  That model has been blown apart as iPhone, iPad and other smartphones and tablets have taken over. Add to that the accessibility and usability of file sharing services like Dropbox and you can see why this transformation has information security managers concerned. These are not trends that organizations can deal with by saying “no.”  They urgently need solutions to help secure confidential data and limit access. Today, we’re pleased to announce that Symantec’s new encryption solutions, powered by PGP Technology, are now shipping. With this Symantec Encryption release, Symantec leverages our encryption portfolio to ensure cloud data remains safe while keeping it accessible, and to protect confidential email for mobile. Here’s a look at what’s new....
• 4

  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 20 Dec 2012

  The Latest Urban Legend: Cracking PGP Whole Disk Encryption (again…and again…)

  Folks, the holidays are almost once again upon us.  I sit here today trying to clear off my deliverables before I go on vacation.  But you know what? The year simply would not be complete without having to respond to yet another claim of a 3rd party tool being able to decrypt/access a system encrypted by PGP Whole Disk Encryption. So Here We Go Again… This morning, I was made aware of a claim made by ElcomSoft that their product could decrypt PGP containers (as well as other Full Disk Encryption competitors).  After reading through their blog and discussing my thoughts with the Symantec Encryption Engineering team, we have come to the conclusion that this claim is false!  There’s truly nothing to see here.  The Weakness is NOT the Crypto Containers I would agree that the...
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  Attention Mac OS X Users: Using PGP WDE or SEE FDE and the Imminent Release of OS X 10.8 - Mountain Lion

  The newest version of OS X, 10.8 - Mountain Lion is scheduled to be released sometime in July of 2012 by Apple. Based on past experiences, we do NOT recommend users currently encrypted with PGP Whole Disk Encryption or SEE Full Disk Encryption for Macs upgrade to OS X 10.8 when made available by Apple. Symantec is actively testing PGP WDE and SEE FDE against the 10.8 developer builds from Apple. We will continue testing against all developer builds from Apple and also against the official release from Apple. As a reminder, you should not upgrade to 10.8 if you wish to continue to use WDE.  If you must upgraded to 10.8, then please decrypt your disk prior to installing 10.8.  Once on 10.8, please do not re-encrypt at this point in time.   Please check back to this blog for updates as they become available...
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  Rumors That PGP Can Be Decrypted?! Not Again!

  A few recent headlines (Google translated link) have suggested that PGP encryption can be broken. My first reaction was with a sigh: “Not this again!” Such claims have been made before, and so far not a single one has proven true. Thus far, that seems to be the case here. Breaking “PGP Crypto” Means Breaking AES First, remember that PGP products do not use a custom encryption algorithm. They are based on well-studied, standard algorithms such as RSA and AES, at bit lengths that are regarded as best practices for strong security (2048-bit RSA keys and...
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  Attention Mac OS X Lion Users: Using PGP WDE or SEE FDE and the Imminent Release of OS X 10.7.3

  It has come to Symantec's attention that an OS X 10.7.3 update release is imminent from Apple. Based on past experiences, we do NOT recommend users currently encrypted with PGP WDE or SEE FDE for Macs upgrade to OS X 10.7.3 when made available by Apple. Symantec is actively testing PGP WDE and SEE FDE against the 10.7.3 developers build from Apple. We will continue testing against all developers code from Apple and also against the official release from Apple. Please check this blog for updates as they become available.
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  Hardware Based Full Disk Encryption Is Almost Here…Now what?

    As many of you know, the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) was an initiative started by some well-known technology companies to help standardize and implement Trusted Computing.  One of the first “products” to come from this was the Trusted Platform Module (TPM).  There are various vendors that take advantage of the TPM chip for security related functions.  (Full disclosure:  Symantec is a member of the Trusted Computing Group.) The next significant “product” to come from TCG is the Opal standards for Self Encrypting Drives (SED).  The Opal standard is an industry standard for any hard disk drive (HDD) manufacture to sell SEDs that would comply with these standards.  Now what this means, is that these HDDs will have encryption already built into the hardware. “Great!  We won’t need to evaluate any of the software encryption vendors out there.  We can simply just buy SEDs from the...
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  The Chicken or the Egg -- Why You Should Decrypt Before Upgrading to OS X Lion

    Now before I begin “The Chicken or the Egg” portion of the blog, I want to address an issue that many people are asking or wondering.  “Why must I first decrypt before upgrading to Lion?”  Well there are many reasons.  However, one of the biggest reasons is that in Lion, Apple has added Recovery Partition Support.  This Recovery Partition allows you to perform repairs and recovery to your Mac without having to find the DVD that came with your Mac.  This is important, because whenever your system is encrypted, it is NOT advisable to create, resize, or move partitions.  This is regardless if you’re running OS X, Windows, or Linux.  Bad things (e.g.  Data integrity issues) tend to happen when encrypted and you do partition modifications.  So, Symantec...
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  Updated: Kelvin_Kwan 05 Nov 2012

  Symantec Encryption Product Updates

  As you might have seen or heard, Symantec recently announced new features to our encryption products.   I’ll give you a quick run down of some of the highlights of this latest release. One of the most exciting features is the introduction of Symantec PGP Viewer for iOS.  This has been one of the most asked for feature by customers who need a solution to  “My CxO wants to be able to read encrypted emails on their iPad or iPhone.”  Well, it can now be done with the PGP Viewer for iOS.  You can decrypt your emails locally on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices now.  Best of all, the PGP Viewer is free from the Apple App Store (expected to be in the App Store by late summer.) It does require PGP Universal Server for key management, so wait until you get information from your mail administrator before you install it. Another really cool feature is the ability of Symantec Endpoint Encryption Full Disk Edition (SEE FDE)...
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  Updated: Brian Tokuyoshi 05 Nov 2012

  Information for Downloading PGP Software on Symantec Licensing Portal

  As a PGP customer, you may have seen the changes that we’ve been making as we transition customer support from the PGP environment to Symantec. Here’s what you need to do to download the latest PGP software.   For PGP software orders purchased prior to February 4, 2011:   Step 1: PGP Products are now downloaded via the Symantec Licensing Portal. Click the following link http://lems.pgp.com , and you will be automatically redirected to the Symantec Licensing Portal. Step 2: Enter the email address which was used to purchase your PGP product and then click SEND MY ACCOUNT INFO.  An email is sent with your Symantec Licensing Portal credentials. Step 3: After receiving your account login credentials, click the following link and enter your email and password....
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  Updated: Brian Tokuyoshi 05 Nov 2012

  Will Your Encryption Policy Protect Your Data?

  In a recent press release, the British Information Commissioner’s Office commented about a recent data loss incident experienced by the Cambridgeshire County Council.  In a roundabout manner, it turns out that an encrypted memory stick triggered a course of events that led to the loss of sensitive personal information. The council attempted to do the right thing, by providing an encrypted memory stick to its employees, free of charge. However, due to issues with the device, a frustrated employee stopped using the encrypted device provided to him and replaced it with an unapproved, unencrypted one. The unencrypted device contained sensitive information, and unfortunately it was lost, thus resulting in a data loss incident. This incident brings up an important issue – it’s not enough to have an encryption policy or to...