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Establishing Unprecedented Benchmarks for Full Disk Encryption

WinMagic has developed a benchmarking and scoring tool to increase the industry's understanding to requisite testing procedures for robustness in selecting a full disk encryption solution that addresses "data at rest" issues without compromising usability.

Not all full disk encryption software is created equal. In taking a thought leadership role in the industry, WinMagic is developing a series of benchmarks to assist enterprises to select the appropriate full disk encryption solution for their environment. The first and most important benchmark is robustness. If you do not have robustness, then nothing else matters. So, how do individuals interested in addressing their "data at rest" problem tackle this issue in the most unobtrusive manner, and how do they do so without compromising the impact on system performance, and in so doing, keeping it transparent to end users?

In order to answer this question, WinMagic Inc. is ensuring its product development superiority by establishing unprecedented benchmarking in full disk encryption. These benchmarks will put the hard drive through its full paces as the drive volume becomes encrypted. When it comes to security, measures to secure data at rest cannot be simply "good enough". They need to not only deal with the every day benchmarks set out by corporations, organizations, and governing bodies dealing with data security, but simultaneously deal with unanticipated, and the unexpected realities in dealing with the various medium that contains data at rest.

During the disk encryption process, WinMagic has placed its product SecureDoc through the ultimate conversion challenge (StressCon: a WinMagic developed diagnostic, benchmarking, and scoring tool). Undoubtedly, the most important phase of full disk encryption and the greatest area of concern in employing full disk encryption software resides in initially encrypting (converting) the hard drive, or any other medium that stores data at rest, while taking into consideration stress points during this process.

In exceeding these tests while encrypting the whole hard drive, WinMagic is setting the benchmark in full disk encryption by simultaneously performing the following functions: (1) running basic and advanced disk utilities, (2) running a variety of disk stress tests, and (3) introducing the most notorious of situations when encrypting data from a disk including intentional or unintentional power failures.

In recognizing that this test may be extreme and not representative of everyday situations, it does emulate exactly what security software is supposed to do: anticipate the unexpected and react accordingly to secure the data from unauthorized access. In dealing with accessibility to data, the simple fact is that users may be working on disk intensive operations during time of encryption, or may be powering down. Furthermore, operating systems like Windows will run silent functions such as "pre-fetch" (defrag) at any time without end user permission or knowledge. The scheduling of such disk utility tools may also be prepared centrally in the enterprise and may not be controlled by end users, including application update protocols for enterprise applications meeting antivirus and potential re-boot needs, as with the Windows operating system.

The robustness, reliability, and error-free nature of the full disk encryption software must be considered in any evaluation consideration for enterprise distribution and implementation.

About WinMagic Inc.
Founded in 1997, WinMagic Inc. provides the world's most secure full disk encryption software represented by the SecureDoc product suite including: SecureDoc, SecureDoc Enterprise Server, Compartmental SecureDoc, SecureDoc PDA, and SecureDoc Personal Edition. Its SecureDoc line of products ensures protection of sensitive information stored on desktops, laptops, and other mobile devices by employing authentication from password to hardware token, biometrics, and PKI commencing right at pre-boot time. WinMagic's world wide award winning products fulfill the requirements of even the most security conscious users by focusing on concrete policy driven security features, while still offering unparalleled flexibility that also incorporates the Unicode Standard. Utilizing Public Key Cryptographic Standard PKCS #11 (Cryptographic Token Interface Standard) from the ground up for extreme adaptability, the SecureDoc line has earned an impressive list of validations including NIST Cryptographic Module Validation, FIPS 140-1 Level 2, FIPS 140-2 Level 1 & 2, and is scheduled to achieve the Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL-4) certification in early 2007.

WinMagic Inc. is headquartered in Mississauga, ON (Toronto) Canada and is now operating through direct and indirect channel support in over 43 countries. For more information concerning its products or services, please call 1-888-879-5879, or email info@WinMagic.com .


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Press Contact:
Michael L. O'Keefe
Communication Strategies, Inc.
Telephone: (416) 760-0100
mokeeffe@communicationstrategiesinc.net