Support my paranoia

[manarak]

I now got a horrible amount of passwords to memorize, and I regularly loose lots of time because of botched logon attempts that freeze my account for some hours or sending passowrd reminder mails to addresses I don't have access to at the moment I need it, or or or...

Then there is the Problem of protecting the data from unwanted curiosity...

Therefore I am looking for s secure USB stick fulfilling the following criteria:
- Strongly encrypted (why not 1048 bit like PGP?)
- The PIN code should be entered via a keypad located on the stick itself (no keyboard input)
- optionally, if a strong encryption is used, a passphrase can be requested to be entered by keyboard
- PIN configurable 3-12 digits, 3 (configurable) wrong entries lock the drive for x minutes or wipe the memory (effect is configurable)
- A special PIN causes the drive to be wiped (unrecoverable)
- Several different PIN codes can be configured, giving access to different partitions on the drive (configurable, no maximum number of partitions)
- If the case is broken in, the drive should be wiped
- The case should be no-name and there should be no external differences between drives of different capacities, and no difference in weight - it should be impossible to tell a difference between two drives of different capacity
- Compatible with all end-user platforms (Apple, Linux, MS)
- Except for the drive management software, there should be no other software, no online backup, no value-added software, nothing.
- After unlocking by PIN the drive should just behave like a normal USB stick

The above features are thought to prevent intrusion in data by the following methods:
- keylogger
- breaking open the case and decryption of the memory chips on another device (AES can be cracked)
- user being forced to reveal the password


Do you know any good product?

Oh, and I would also be happy if it was manufactured outside EU and USA.

[rxpharm]

I don't think they have a USB with all those specifications yet, but check this out:
Memory Experts Clipdrive Bio

However, I really do not think flash drives are that reliable. Too easy to lose the data.

[sev7en]

manarak, you work for the CIA?

[Monkey]

..don't leave it on the train

[manarak]

@rxpharm
interesting, but what happens if I put my finger in an LB's ass and it gets stuck there?
How do I access my data then?

I already got two fingerprint scanning devices, and the reliability is so-so... Thank god I can call our IT support to get them working.

manarak, you work for the CIA?

I can't tell you for whom I work, it's secret...
No seriously, I work for a swiss bank, and I can tell you that crossborder security will be dramatically improved over the next year.
I am not being too paranoid by requesting the above.

The surveillance plans they have in Europe make me shudder.
That's another reason I want to move real fast to a country with enough corruption to protect myself from too lawful civil servants. Especially the germans have a severe crack in the pot.

..don't leave it on the train

That's exactly why I want it. If the device had the above features, I could just leave it somewhere and be fairly sure the contents will not get hacked into.

Maybe I should also request a self-destruction after some configurable time, during which no valid PIN has been entered?

[EyeMahk]

You should look at http://www.Truecrypt.com. You can put an encrypted volume on any USB stick. The truecrypt.exe executable can go on the root of the USB stick and everything else is in the encrypted volume. You can even have plausible deniability by creating a hidden volume. This would allow you to open the encrypted drive if forced (by a customs officer, a court, etc.) to show that you are hiding something other that what you REALLY want to hide.

[manarak]

nah, doesn't work, truecrypt requires you to be looged on the target PC with admin rights

[EyeMahk]

Yes, unfortunately this appears to be correct - http://aarpca2.org/node/4)

[manarak]

read this and tell me if I am Paranoid...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news....68.html

[katoeylover]

you're paranoid...

[LB_better_than_GG]

Hi manarak,

I thought you were a bit paranoid when i read your reuirements for the usb stick, but after reading the article i see your point. I dont live in Uk but geez they take big brother to a new level.

my 2 cents

[Road Runner]

(LB_better_than_GG @ Nov. 11 2008,08:54) I dont live in Uk but geez they take big brother to a new level.

LB_better_than_GG you do realise that NZ is in the club with the US, UK and Aus on intelligence gathering?    


Notice in the newspaper article it's called;-   Interception Modernisation Programme.

They already have the capability to intercept and process large amounts of messages in various formats.
But presently I believe that they have to target specific people or communications networks.
This I guess would mean they can at least capture practically all traffic - I suspect processing would still have to be restricted to people they are watching.


Paranoid?............I'm NOT Paranoid!    


RR.

[Torurot]

Not only that it was a KIWI, Nicky Hagar that exposed the entire ECHELON network to world view back in about '96. Since then the computing power has increased 100 times.

[geosight]

you always use a Norton identity safe log-in