Explore how drive encryption protects against common threats to data security. Click on each card to expand for more details.
Description: If a laptop, external hard drive, or USB drive is stolen, an attacker could access the data stored on it.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Full-disk encryption ensures that the data on the drive is unreadable without the decryption key or credentials. Even if the device is physically stolen, the attacker cannot access the data without breaking the encryption.
Example: A stolen laptop with BitLocker (Windows), FileVault (macOS), or LUKS (Linux) enabled prevents unauthorized access to files.
Read MoreDescription: An attacker gains physical access to a powered-off device (e.g., at a workplace, hotel, or airport) and attempts to extract data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: The encrypted drive requires authentication (e.g., a password, PIN, or hardware token) to decrypt and access data. Without proper credentials, the data remains encrypted and inaccessible.
Example: An employee leaves their laptop unattended, but drive encryption prevents a malicious coworker from accessing sensitive company data.
Description: In a cold boot attack, an attacker extracts encryption keys from RAM shortly after the device is powered off, as RAM retains data for a short period.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: While drive encryption alone cannot fully prevent cold boot attacks, it raises the bar for attackers. If the encryption keys are not stored in plaintext in RAM (e.g., using secure boot processes or TPM), the attacker cannot easily decrypt the drive.
Example: An attacker tries to freeze RAM to extract keys, but the keys are protected by a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), making the attack more difficult.
Read MoreDescription: When drives are discarded, sold, or repurposed without proper wiping, attackers can attempt to recover residual data using forensic tools.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that even residual data is unreadable without the decryption key. This protects against data recovery attempts.
Example: A company discards old hard drives without wiping them, but encryption ensures that sensitive client data cannot be recovered.
Description: An attacker with temporary physical access to a device (e.g., a hotel maid) tampers with the bootloader or firmware to capture decryption keys or bypass security.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Drive encryption, combined with secure boot mechanisms, ensures that the system detects tampering with the bootloader or firmware. However, this requires additional security measures (e.g., TPM, secure boot) alongside encryption.
Example: An attacker installs a malicious bootloader, but secure boot detects the change and prevents the system from decrypting the drive.
Read MoreDescription: An attacker copies data from the drive to another device (e.g., by booting from an external OS or removing the drive).
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Since the drive is encrypted, the attacker cannot read the data even if they remove the drive or boot from an external OS.
Example: An attacker removes the hard drive from a laptop and connects it to another machine, but the encrypted partitions are unreadable.
Description: Law enforcement or malicious actors seize a device and attempt to perform forensic analysis to extract data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives prevent forensic tools from accessing plaintext data. Without the decryption key, the data remains protected.
Example: A seized laptop with encrypted drives cannot be accessed by forensic experts without the user's credentials.
Description: An attacker attempts to brute-force the encryption algorithm to decrypt stored data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Modern encryption algorithms (e.g., AES-256) are computationally secure against brute-force attacks. Even with significant computing power, breaking the encryption is infeasible.
Example: An attacker tries to brute-force an AES-256 encrypted drive, but the attack would take billions of years to succeed.
Read MoreDescription: Backup drives or media (e.g., external HDDs, USBs) are lost or stolen, exposing sensitive data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: If the backup drive is encrypted, the data remains protected even if the drive is lost or stolen.
Example: A company stores backups on encrypted external drives. If one is lost, the data cannot be accessed by unauthorized parties.
Description: An attacker tampers with a storage device during manufacturing or distribution, embedding malware or backdoors to access data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Even if the device is tampered with, drive encryption ensures that the data stored on the device remains unreadable without the decryption key.
Example: A tampered SSD is shipped to a user, but the data stored on it is encrypted, preventing the attacker from accessing it.
Description: Devices are disposed of without securely wiping data, allowing attackers to recover sensitive information.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that even if the device is not securely wiped, the data remains unreadable.
Example: A university disposes of old computers, but drive encryption prevents data recovery by dumpster divers.
Description: Attackers use physical side-channel attacks (e.g., power analysis, electromagnetic emissions) to extract encryption keys.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: While drive encryption alone cannot fully prevent side-channel attacks, strong encryption algorithms and secure key storage (e.g., TPM) make it harder for attackers to exploit side channels.
Example: An attacker attempts to extract keys via power analysis, but the keys are stored in a secure TPM, making the attack more difficult.
Read MoreDescription: If an attacker steals weak or compromised credentials (e.g., a weak password), they may attempt to decrypt the drive.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Drive encryption requires strong authentication mechanisms. Weak passwords can be mitigated by enforcing strong password policies or using multi-factor authentication (MFA) alongside encryption.
Example: An attacker steals a weak password, but MFA prevents them from decrypting the drive.
Description: If a device is left in hibernation or suspend mode, attackers may attempt to extract data from memory or the hibernation file.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Drive encryption ensures that the hibernation file or swap space is also encrypted, preventing attackers from extracting plaintext data.
Example: A laptop is left in hibernation mode, but the encrypted hibernation file prevents data extraction.
Description: Malicious insiders with physical access to devices attempt to extract sensitive data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Drive encryption ensures that insiders cannot access data without proper credentials, even if they have physical access to the device.
Example: A disgruntled employee tries to access a coworker's encrypted laptop, but the encryption prevents unauthorized access.
Description: Malware attempts to read or exfiltrate data from unencrypted drives.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that even if malware infects the system, it cannot read or exfiltrate plaintext data from the encrypted drive.
Example: Ransomware infects a system, but the encrypted drive prevents the malware from accessing sensitive files.
Description: Devices sent for repairs may expose data to technicians or third parties.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that technicians cannot access data without the decryption key, protecting sensitive information during repairs.
Example: A laptop is sent for hardware repair, but the encrypted drive prevents the repair shop from accessing personal files.
Description: Rogue employees attempt to access encrypted shared drives on company devices.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives require authorized credentials, preventing rogue employees from accessing sensitive data on shared devices.
Example: A rogue employee tries to access a shared encrypted drive on a company server, but lacks the necessary credentials.
Description: Lost or stolen USB drives containing sensitive data can lead to data breaches.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted USB drives ensure that even if the drive is lost or stolen, the data remains unreadable without the decryption key.
Example: An employee loses a USB drive with encrypted company data, but the encryption prevents unauthorized access.
Description: Drives may be tampered with during shipping or transit, exposing data to attackers.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that even if tampered with during transit, the data remains unreadable without the decryption key.
Example: A company ships an encrypted external drive, but tampering during transit does not compromise the data.
Description: Mobile devices like smartphones or tablets with internal storage are lost, exposing sensitive data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted storage on mobile devices ensures that lost devices cannot be accessed without the decryption key, protecting personal and corporate data.
Example: A lost smartphone with encrypted storage prevents a thief from accessing emails, photos, and work documents.
Description: External drives (e.g., HDDs, SSDs) are stolen and connected to another system for data extraction.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted external drives prevent data access, even if connected to another system, as the data remains unreadable without the decryption key.
Example: A stolen external SSD with encrypted client data cannot be accessed by the thief when connected to their computer.
Description: Failed drives sent for data recovery services may expose sensitive data to technicians or third parties.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives ensure that even if data is recovered, it remains unreadable without the decryption key, protecting sensitive information.
Example: A failed encrypted drive is sent for recovery, but the recovered data is encrypted, preventing unauthorized access.
Description: Law enforcement agencies gain physical access to devices and attempt to extract data for investigations.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted drives prevent law enforcement from accessing data without the decryption key, though legal obligations may require users to provide access in some jurisdictions.
Example: A seized encrypted laptop cannot be accessed by law enforcement without the user's password, protecting personal data.
Description: Cloud-connected drives (e.g., NAS devices) are stolen, potentially exposing synced data.
How Drive Cryptography Helps: Encrypted cloud-connected drives ensure that stolen devices cannot expose synced data, as the data remains unreadable without the decryption key.
Example: A stolen NAS device with encrypted storage prevents the thief from accessing synced company files.