www.elkom.com.tw ELKOM
HDDkey – user manual 3
FEATURES
HDDKEY is a revolutionary device intended to encrypt in real time, the entire hard disk con-
tent, on the fly, without performance degradation. You will not notice that the device is at-
tached. You will not notice any performance lose of your system. Everything on the hard drive
is encrypted from the partition table, through the boot sector (MBR) to the operating system,
swap file and all user files.
HDDKEY is a device specially designed to encrypt and decrypt data with the 3DES (Triple
DES) encryption engine.
HDDKEY is an operating system independent and does not require any software drivers.
It works on the hardware layer without software intervention of any kind. The secret random
number transferred from your key token never reaches RAM or HDD surface where your sensi-
tive data are stored in the encrypted form. The secret key is erased from its internal registers
upon reset, reboot or shut down and can never be recovered.
HDDKEY is offered in 128 and 192 bit
secret key strength.
Depending on the key strength of the controller you got, the device will take 128 or 192
bits from external serial EEPROM respectively.
Your secret KEY number is stored in the small external memory device called
the secret key token. The user is advised to hide one small memory device
token in a safe and secret repository and use only one secret key
token at a time.
It is strongly recommended to hide the second key to-
ken outside your house, work or a place you often visit.
Until your secret key token is in your hands then your
hard disk is secure from intruders and thieves. If you lose
both of your secret key tokens your data is gone forever. If
your HDDKEY crypto controller (not the token) fails then
nothing wrong happens. Simply replace the controller
with a new one of the same encryption strength and use
your old key tokens to access your data. Your key tokens need
to be connected only for booting the computer. You can disconnect
them right after your operating system was loaded. Remember to recon-
nect them before rebooting or starting the computer.
HDDKEY uses the 93C46 standard serial EEPROM memory integrated circuit as your
security key. The 93C46 must be configured in the 16 bit mode of operation by connecting
the pin6 (ORG) to the positive power supply pin8 +5V for proper operation. You can use any
other device as your secret key storage medium because it uses industry standard 93C46
transmission protocol.
Each HDDKEY crypto controller is equipped with two key tokens with preprogrammed ran-
dom numbers. The user is strongly advised to reprogram these tokens himself. Please use the
attached 3des_v2.6.exe file to generate your own random numbers. Use any serial EEPROM
programmer to program your newly generated numbers to your tokens. Nobody keeps cop-
ies of preprogrammed random numbers but please reprogram them for your safety. Distribu-
tors shall not help the end user to reprogram key tokens. Distributors shall not help to install
the device. Distributors shall not wipe hard drives of their customers. The user must do all of
this on his own.
The device is specially designed to guard the private property, small business and corporate
property against jealous spouses, business competitors or thieves and is not intended to be
used in any Government, Police or Military institutions. The device does not have certificates
of any kind in order to be used in Government, Police or Military and shall not have such cer-
tificates in the future. The sensitive nature of the cryptography of the HDDKEY may be subject
to some export control regulations and other cryptography related laws in the country you
live in. Be aware that export to some countries is prohibited by the law. Please follow your
country’s legal acts for details.
revolutionary device
intended to encrypt
in real time,
the entire hard disk content,
on the fly
