Encrypted computer

[Sp!ke]

France

French Barriers to Encryption

France is the only Western European country which does not allow a free use of encryption on its territory. In spite of the recent decrees (dated March 15 and March 25, 1998), obstacles still remain to achieving full implementation and free usage of encryption in France.
The March 25, 1998 decree gives the limits to encryption based on the maximum key length of 40 bits. Encryption algorithms based on higher bitlength (such as 56 bits) are subject to a contract (declaration) with a Trusted Third Party (TTP). A Trusted Third Party is a security authority, or its agent, trusted by other entities with respect to security-related activities. In fact, a TTP may act as a Key Escrow Agency (KEA) whose key-escrow scheme has been approved. Users who escrow, i.e. deposit their keys with the KEA are able to freely use the cryptography scheme with these keys. On the other hand, the French KEA is required to hand over keys to law enforcement under certain conditions, such as suspicion of lawbreaking.

 

[flango]

Which countries?

Certain US states, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Ivory Coast, Russia and former Soviet States, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, China and Indonesia., and as Spike points out even France. Will get the full list from our corporate IT security people and post it later this week as I'm Actually in France the next couple of days.

I spent 45 minutes once at security in Chicago Airport proving to them my computer had no encryption.

 

[R2D2]

Just as an update on this thread. I installed Truecrpyt which as long as you take your time to follow the instructions is a brilliant bit of software. My laptop now won't boot until a preboot password is entered and then it boots to the windows password and then it runs at normal speed. I use XX Clone to backup my hard drive and swapped the hard drives to see if it was still a reliable backup. The cloned drive was perfect but unencrpyted?? Now, I thought XX Clone was cloning all the hard drive therefore the backup drive mush be encrpyted as well.???? Any thoughts??

PS. I'm kind of glad it isn't but don't understand why its not!

 

[Spinal]

When XX Clone accesses your drive to read the data, Truecrypt decrypts it on the fly...