On Wed, Oct 22, 2003 at 05:31:46AM -0500, Evan Langlois wrote:
The boot image in this case would be a proprietary piece of software for real-time network filtering. The algorythm for which is patented technology. A user-input encryption key doesn't make sense as the box is stand-alone and does not have an operator. A simple encryption at least stops someone from removing the drive (or flash disk) from the system and reverse engineering it. Granted, they can get the key from the ROM, but if they have to disassemble the ROM to do it, it might slow things down.
Maybe by a day.
It would at least be better protection than a non-encrypted system being booted by the PC BIOS.
IMHO it's hardly worth the effort. A skilled individual would probably not need more than a single day to bypass it, while it will take several working days to create. Instead, use dedicated hardware for decrypting, and require it to be present at boot. (Smart cards come to mind.)
iSecure - CyberWarfare Defense www.dDoS.com
Ehrm..
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//Peter