Lokly says that it has a throughput of 10 MBps (MegaBytes per second) when reading data, and 5 MBps when writing it. In fact, Lokly is so paranoid about the host computer that its USB-key has a female full-size connector to perform key to key copies, without going through a PC. It’s true that the peak throughput is lower, but the potential for attack is reduced compared to solutions that require the help of the host PC processor. 'YOU NEED TO HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE HOST PC'įor that reason, the Lokly key is entirely autonomous and encrypts/decrypts everything using its internal ST Micro hardware platform. “You need to have a high degree of confidence in the host PC,” says Benoit Berthe. This allows such USB keys to reach much higher throughput, but could also enlarge the attack surface for potential hackers, primarily if you use the USB key on a system that you don’t control (public computer, loaner, your client or business partner computer etc.).Īn attacker could potentially intercept data by using a hacked storage driver to gain access to information during the data exchange between the secure key and the PC.

Lokly could reduce the hackers’ attack surfaceĪnother thing to be mindful of is that many encrypted USB keys use the host PC processor to encrypt/decrypt data. Making it easier, without compromising security

Lokly’s CEO says that reduce the user experience frictions, manufacturers are often tempted to make the biometric features a little bit laxer (less secure) to account for dirty fingerprints, eyeglasses, new haircut, lousy lighting, and other life realities.Īt the end of the day, this means using less biometric data, which is like shortening the length of a password, and that weakens the security to an extent. 'OEMS SOMETIMES HAVE LAX BIOMETRIC SECURITY TO MAKE IT WORK IN THE REAL WORLD (BENOIT BERTHE)'

Products that use a strong password often induce a lot of friction because users must remember and type such passwords often (here’s how to generate a strong password, easy to remember), and we know that in practice, many people end up leaving their data unencrypted for that reason, including myself. When we challenged Lokly with the fact that there are many USB keys that use password or biometrics to AES-encrypt data, Lokly points out that there are security details and real-world usage models that users should pay attention to.

Encrypted usb security key