I cannot find any more information on the "self-destruct" feature, but every review has seemingly picked up on this phrase. One review states that the entire contents are overwritten internally, while another states that the on-board chip is "destroyed".
I'd be really grateful if Dave could clarify please?
o Is the "self-destruct" a process which trashes the data and keys, leaving the device 'as new' ready for re-initialisation? I suspect this is the case, which would mean it works in the same way as the likes of the iKey hardware crypto tokens.
o Or does it really render the device inoperable, requiring a new one?
o If the former, what happens if the device is removed from the USB port during the trashing process? It will lose power. Can it store enough residual power to compete the process, or does it redo the trashing when it's next plugged in, or something else?
o is the 'control panel' application, and message passing system, open-source?
o Are there any plans for an 8GB one?
To clarify my longer response (above), I think the device is very neat and I'm probably going to get on to replace TrueCrypt and xB. I was really pointing out that most environments aren't well controlled and no device can compensate for that, but the way its marketed people may end up with a false sense of security, leaving them in a worse position still. Eg they may now feel completely safe and start recording all their passwords in a text file on the device, unaware that they are submitting every keystroke to keylogging malware.
El Reg, thanks for the review, nice product, and thanks to Dave for popping in with some more info.
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Question on the self-destruct feature
I cannot find any more information on the "self-destruct" feature, but every review has seemingly picked up on this phrase. One review states that the entire contents are overwritten internally, while another states that the on-board chip is "destroyed".
I'd be really grateful if Dave could clarify please?
o Is the "self-destruct" a process which trashes the data and keys, leaving the device 'as new' ready for re-initialisation? I suspect this is the case, which would mean it works in the same way as the likes of the iKey hardware crypto tokens.
o Or does it really render the device inoperable, requiring a new one?
o If the former, what happens if the device is removed from the USB port during the trashing process? It will lose power. Can it store enough residual power to compete the process, or does it redo the trashing when it's next plugged in, or something else?
o is the 'control panel' application, and message passing system, open-source?
o Are there any plans for an 8GB one?
To clarify my longer response (above), I think the device is very neat and I'm probably going to get on to replace TrueCrypt and xB. I was really pointing out that most environments aren't well controlled and no device can compensate for that, but the way its marketed people may end up with a false sense of security, leaving them in a worse position still. Eg they may now feel completely safe and start recording all their passwords in a text file on the device, unaware that they are submitting every keystroke to keylogging malware.
El Reg, thanks for the review, nice product, and thanks to Dave for popping in with some more info.