From the AEGIS e-Journal, Volume 9 Number 11, November 2006
The Bat! Private Disk RITLabs, $29, or $19.43 if you use The Bat! E-mail client http://www.ritlabs.com/en/products/pd/ In the July 2006 ÆGIS we wrote about The Bat! Voyager, the portable version of our e-mail client of choice that we installed on a USB flash drive (it would go on any portable drive). We mentioned that while Voyager encrypts all the data for your safety, we also carry other data suitably protected. A number of people asked what we recommend for that protection. Our choice is The Bat! Private disk from the folks who make The Bat! (discussed in the January 2005 ÆGIS) as well as Voyager. Private Disk installs easily, either onto a hard drive so that you can know that al of your confidential information is confidential, even if the computer or drive is stolen. You can also install it onto the flash drive. It allows you to create an AES encrypted virtual disk that Windows sees as just another drive. In our case it is seen when opened as a 3.5 gig Z drive. When you create the password it gives you an analysis of how strong the password is. We recommend you use an entire sentence. This should be something easy to remember, but too long for anyone to randomly guess. The file which contains the encrypted data can be backed up as needed. To open the virtual drive you run the Private Disk program, which asks you which file you want to use. When you select the file and click OK, the drive mysteriously shows up in Windows Explorer, and behaves just like any other drive. Obviously, you can also create an encrypted virtual drive on your hard drive for sensitive information. The disadvantage of Private Disk is that, unlike (apparently) Voyager (see the July 2006 issue of ÆGIS) or Password Safe (see the February 2001 issue of ÆGIS), it requires that its drivers have been run at least once by someone with administrative privileges. This means that if you use the computer in an airport or hotel or internet café, you may get a message saying you do not have sufficient rights to run it, and you may not be able to get someone with administrative privileges to run it. In this case you need a plan B, which would be encrypted on-line backup such as iBackup (see the August 2006 issue of ÆGIS). If you don’t have access to the Internet from that machine, and can’t find an administrator willing to let you run unknown drivers requiring administrative privileges, you are out of luck. ÆGIS, November 2006 10 There is a 30 day free trial, so you can give it a try with no obligation. We recommend that you do so. 7. Subscription/Unsubscription/Copyright Information •• ÆGIS is supported and maintained by voluntary efforts. This publication is owned, published, and copyright © 2006 by The LUBRINCO Group Ltd, Inc. and Financial Examinations and Evaluations, Inc. It is edited jointly by Richard Isaacs (RBIsaacs@lubrinco.com), L. Burke Files (LBFiles@feeinc.com), and Terry Philips (TPhillips@aegisjournal.com). LUBRINCO provides services in three high-threat areas, too specialized to be dealt-with in-house, that can adversely affect domestic and international bottom lines. • Identification, valuation, and protection of intellectual assets and critical information. 1. American businesses lose $300 billion annually to competitive intelligence, economic espionage, and information theft. 2. Sarbanes-Oxley requires internal controls tracking the costs, and impact on valuation, of competitive intelligence, economic espionage, theft, and deliberate disclosure. o LUBRINCO is the leading private sector provider of access to OPSEC, the government-standard process for identification, valuation, and protection of intellectual property and critical information from competitive intelligence, economic espionage, theft, and deliberate disclosure. • International asset location and due diligence. o Location of concealed assets in fraud, theft, and divorce. o Due diligence to prevent fraud and loss in China, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the offshore financial centers, Latin America, and the Caribbean. o Financial fraud, anti-money laundering, and anti-corruption program development and training. • Protection of management, staff, and families. o In the high-threat environments of Latin America, Africa, the Mid- East, and Southeast Asia. o When traveling and living overseas. o When transporting items of substantial value. ÆGIS, November 2006 11 LUBRINCO identifies and quantifies threats and vulnerabilities, and their associated risk, then manages the vulnerabilities so you can transfer or live with the residual risk. We prevent disastrous financial loss to your company, and physical harm to you, your family, and your staff. For information on LUBRINCO and its services, or for the archive of all past issues of ÆGIS in PDF format, please go to http://www.aegisjournal.com/. Subscription to ÆGIS is available for $15 per year in North America and $20 per year outside of North America. To sign up for a complimentary subscription to ÆGIS or the ÆGIS PDF notification list, go to http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs?customerid=7768 or send an email to subscribe@aegisjournal.com. 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The submission of materials for publication in ÆGIS constitutes a license to LUBRINCO, and/or Financial Examinations and Evaluations, Inc, their assigns, associates, or affiliates, to abridge and/or edit said submission, and to copyright and publish/republish any submitted materials in whatever written and/or electronic form they may choose. If you would like to go beyond normal fair-use in reproducing articles from this issue of ÆGIS, you may do so freely as long as appropriate source, copyright, accreditation, and link to the ÆGIS Web site is included. This should be in the form
ÆGIS, November 2006 12 Article Title, from the November 2006 ÆGIS (© 2006 LUBRINCO & FEEINC), to be found at http://www.aegisjournal.com/. ÆGIS is a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, operating styles, theories, and related topics for corporate managers who make decisions about threats typically outside the expertise available in-house, yet which have the potential to affect their company’s domestic and international bottom lines. Nothing appearing in ÆGIS should be construed as legal advice. The information provided is “general information,” not “specific advice.” The solution to any problem is highly dependent upon the precise facts involved. Thus, before making any reliance upon anything said here, you should consult with an appropriately skilled professional. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher, and may be presented to encourage a dialogue among subscribers. The publisher and any re-publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss incurred as a result of the application of any information published in ÆGIS. Please be safe, and be smart.