Swissbit iShield Camera Card Tool User manual

User Manual
Swissbit iShield
Camera Card Tool (iCCT)
Version: 1.1
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Copyright 2021 by Swissbit AG
This document as well as the information or material contained is copyrighted. Any use not explicitly permitted by
copyright law requires prior consent of Swissbit AG. This applies to any reproduction, revision, translation, storage
on microfilm as well as its import and processing in electronic systems, in particular.
The information or material contained in this document is property of Swissbit AG and any recipient of this document
shall not disclose or divulge, directly or indirectly, this document or the information or material contained herein
without the prior written consent of Swissbit AG.
All copyrights, trademarks, patents and other rights in connection herewith are expressly reserved to Swissbit AG
and no license is created hereby.
Subject to technical changes.
All brand or product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. 3
1. ISHIELD CAMERA CARD –AN INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................4
2. PREREQUISITES .................................................................................................................4
3. USAGE FLOW OF ISHIELD CAMERA CARD ....................................................................................5
4. INITIAL SETUP –ACTIVATING SECURITY ......................................................................................5
5. USING THE CARD WITH ACTIVATED SECURITY ............................................................................... 7
6. ACCESSING THE PROTECTED DATA FROM THE CARD ........................................................................ 7
7. MANAGE THE CARD –CHANGE PIN, DEACTIVATE SECURITY, FACTORY RESET............................................8
8. RE-INITIALIZING THE CARD (E.G. BEFORE SWITCHING CAMERA MODELS)...............................................9
9. RESOLVING ISSUES .............................................................................................................9
9.1 RE-FORMATTING IN CAMERA REQUIRED............................................................................................ 9
9.2 INCOMPATIBLE CAMERA .......................................................................................................... 10
10. APPENDIX......................................................................................................................10
10.1 LINKS........................................................................................................................... 10
Swissbit product landing page with Downloads .............................................................................. 10
SD Card Formatter Download (recommended official tool from SD association) ........................ 10
11. DOCUMENT HISTORY .......................................................................................................... 11

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1. iShield Camera Card –an introduction
The Swissbit iShield camera card is a (micro)SD memory card which provides automatic encryption & access
protection for all saved content, like photos and videos, recorded on generic cameras.
For details on the iShield camera card, please refer to the product fact sheet and product data sheet [available
from 10.1.1 ].
This guide describes how to setup and use the card with the corresponding software tool, the iShield Camera Card
Tool (iCCT).
2. Prerequisites
To get started, you should have the following at hand:
-One Swissbit iShield Camera microSD card
-A PC to run iCCT –Windows 10, MacOS and Linux are supported. You can download the tools from [10.1.1 ]
-One camera of your choice which supports (micro)SD cards in SD standard format (FAT32)
The camera needs to support a (micro)SD card with up to 32GB, formatted according to SD standard in FAT32. The
iShield Camera card is factory pre-formatted correctly. Note that the iShield camera card does not support other
file systems (e.g. NTFS, exFAT…) –trying to apply such file systems will be rejected by the card during the
activation process. Also, please note that formatting the card is only possible when the protection has not yet
been activated.

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START
Activate card
security on PC
3. Usage flow of iShield Camera card
To start using the card, plug it into a PC and use the iShield Camera Card Tool (iCCT) to set a PIN and activate the
security. After that, you can start using the card in the camera of your choice. All written files will remain visible
and readable until the card is being power-cycled - either by shutting the camera off and on again, or by
removing the card (which is generally not recommendable during camera operation –data loss my occur).
After the power cycle, all previously recorded data will be access protected. Note that the file system (FAT) is still
readable, meaning that you can still see file names, recording dates etc., but strictly all access to the file content
is being prohibited until you have authenticated.
Deletion of files is possible also without authentication, allowing loop recording e.g. in a dashcam.
In order to access and download the card’s content, plug the iShield Camera card into your PC and use the iCCT
software to authenticate (using your PIN). Then your card can be plugged back into your camera for further
recording.
4. Initial setup –activating security
In factory new condition, the iShield Camera Card is working like a regular memory card –no data protection
features are active.
In order to activate the security, plug in the card into a PC and start iCCT. The tool will ask you to plug in the
iShield Camera Card if it is not yet connected. After being connected, the card will show up in iCCT:
Plug card
into camera
Write
content
(remains
readable)
Turn off camera
(or remove card)
Recorded
content is
encrypted
Unlock on PC
to download
content
iCCT
ICCT
= iShield Camera Card Tool
iCCT

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Fig. 1 iCCT started up, with iShield Camera Card connected
Click on the product picture to start the activation process. On the next screen, hit “activate”:
Fig. 2 Starting the security activation
The wizard will inform you that security activation will delete all data currently present on the memory card. If
there is anything on the card that you still want to save, cancel the process here. Otherwise, hit “continue”.
In the next step, you will be asked to set & confirm your PIN. The PIN also supports alphanumeric characters and
special characters.
Fig. 3 Setting the security PIN

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Please take the advice in the wizard seriously –without the PIN, you will no longer be able to access data recorded
on the secured memory card. In addition, you will need the same PIN to deactivate security or reset the card.
Fig. 4 Security activation success message
After the security has been activated, you will see the success dialog shown above. Just unplug the secured
memory card and the dialog will close automatically.
5. Using the card with activated security
After activating the card’s security, you can simply plug it into your camera and start using it normally. The card
has a FAT32 format according to the SDA standard, which is directly supported by many camera models. For
recommended measures in case a camera does not support the standard FAT32 format, please refer to chapter 9.1
All recorded data will remain readable during the same session (before power cycle) of the memory card. In the
next session (after power cycle), all recorded data is only visible on meta level (file names etc.) –to access the
content, follow the instructions in the next chapter.
6. Accessing the protected data from the card
Start iCCT on you PC and connect the iShield Camera Card. Click on the product picture (see Fig. 1) to start accessing
the protected data.
In the next dialog, you can choose to view files (card will be in read-only mode) or to download all files to a
selected folder and wipe the card (backup). Both operations will ask for the PIN that you set during the initial
setup.

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Fig. 5 View Files or Download&Wipe
7. Manage the card –Change PIN, deactivate security, factory reset
In the same dialog that is used for accessing protected data, you can also manage you card’s security.
Start iCCT on you PC and connect the iShield Camera Card. Click on the product picture (see Fig. 1) and then on the
menu option “Configure” to show up the menu options:
Fig. 6 Change PIN, Deactivate Security, and Factory reset options
Change PIN allows you to set a new PIN for the secured memory card.
Deactivate Security allows you to turn your memory card into a “regular”, not secured device. The content of the
card will be kept when deactivating security.
Factory Reset allows you to restore the factory default (no security active) of the card. The factory reset can be
performed without a PIN, e.g. in case the PIN has been lost.
Please note: All data will be irrecoverably lost during a factory reset.

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8. Re-initializing the card (e.g. before switching camera models)
If you intend to use the iShield camera card in a different camera model than it has been used with before, you
need to re-initialize the card first. In order to do this, please deactivate security (see. ch. 7) and copy all files
that you want to keep. Then, please use the official SD card formatter tool from SD association to format the card
–it can be downloaded for free for Windows & Mac (download link: see 10.1.2 ).
After formatting, you can re-initialize your iShield card (see. ch. 4) and start using it in the new camera.
9. Resolving issues
9.1 Re-formatting in camera required
Some camera models require a special file system, which usually results in a “card error” or request to “format
card” after it has been inserted into the camera with activated security (according ch. 4).
In this case, please try the following procedure:
1. Deactivate security (see ch. 7)
2. Plug in the card into your camera & format it in the camera
3. Plug the card into your PC and try to activate security (ch. 4)
If you receive a success message, your camera is compatible with the iShield security features and you can now
use the card in your camera with all content being automatically protected.
Fig. 7 No device detected after re-formatting in camera
In case the iShield card does not show up in iCCT after re-formatting in your camera (see Fig. 7), unfortunately
the file system is incompatible with iShield security (e.g. formatted as NTFS or exFAT).
You can still use the card as a regular memory card in your camera without the security features. If you would
like to try the iShield card in a different camera, please format the card with SD Formatter (see ch. 8) before re-
activating the security features in iCCT.
Please report your used camera make & model to [e-mail].
We will use this information to improve the product in future generations.

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9.2 Incompatible camera
In case you receive an error message about an incompatible recording system (Fig. 8) after the iShield card has
been used, your camera is unfortunately incompatible with the iShield camera card’s security features. Please
deactivate security by selecting “Configure – deactivate security”. You can still use the card as a regular memory
card in your camera.
Please report your used camera make & model to [e-mail].
We will use this information to improve the product in future generations.
Fig. 8 Incompatible camera warning message
10. Appendix
10.1 Links
Swissbit product landing page with Downloads
https://www.swissbit.com/en/products/security-products/ishield-camera/
SD Card Formatter Download (recommended official tool from SD association)
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

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11.Document History
Version
Updated on
Updated by
Short description
1.0
Mar 2nd, 2021
Swissbit AG
First release
1.1
June 15th, 2021
Swissbit AG
Added support for MacOS & Linux