Upek: Tales Of The Encrypt

VARs know the best practices better than anyone: regular password updates, firewalls, multilevels of VPN security. But as the stakes grow higher, the barrier to entry and usability of biometric security is getting lower and lower. That's a good thing, as accessibility and availability of solid biometrics to protect data are needed in more scenarios each day.

We've looked at a number of different biometric and encryption technologies, techniques and solutions in recent months -- and many of them demonstrate that solid, multifactor security can be had on a cost-effective basis.

For example, in the Linux desktop operating system Fedora 12, we found that installation of the OS provides the option of encrypting an entire hard drive in as little as a single click. TruCrypt, which is open-source encryption software, easily installs and encrypts and hides any file with a high ease-of-use factor.

That brings us to the here and now, and a discussion of Upek's Eikon To Go Digital Privacy Manager. With a USB-based, fingerprint authentication device and accompanying encryption software, Upek has delivered a simple, cost-effective way to deploy multifactor, biometric data protection. With street pricing of about $40, Eikon to Go is more than worth it for anyone seeking an on-the-fly answer to file encryption.

Installation is easy enough: Run the software on the included CD and then attach the USB-based fingerprint reader. We tested it on a PC running Windows 7, and it was up and running within a couple of minutes. The software, Protector Suite QL, allows for enrollment of fingerprints into the reader (and can memorize up to 15 different prints.) One user can enroll all 10 fingers as a means of accessing a PC or data, or as little as one. (Upek recommends more than one finger be enrolled in the event of "an injury.")

The Protector Suite console allows for management of protected files, management of enrolled fingerprints and users, provides a "Password Bank" to store, for example, Web-based passwords that may be unlocked through the fingerprint reader, and a File Safe -- essentially a separate file system that can store encrypted data. (It worked great for files on the PC hard drive and worked well to encrypt every file on a thumb drive, for example.)

Again, encryption is easy: The application allows, via rightmouse click, for any file or folder to be encrypted in its entirety and hidden altogether on the drive.

Once installed, though, Eikon To Go Digital Privacy Manager allows for any file or application on the PC to be encrypted with two factors: first through restricting access to the PC itself by matching fingerprint or fingerprints, and second by encrypting files that may only be decrypted when a correct fingerprint match that provides a secure key stored on the reader. The secure key is then released to decrypt encrypted files.

The encryption is fail-safed with backup passwords; that feature both provides a means to recover data in the event of injured fingers or hands, but also a potential open door through the encryption to hackers. Still, at this price point and for entry-level biometric security, that's fine.

The bottom line: With compliance and data protection becoming everyday issues for enterprises of all sizes, biometrics and encryption have become critical to consider as potential solutions. Upek has a three-tiered partner program for VARs that provides software, support, SDKs, marketing assistance and, in some cases, development hardware. After looking at its entry-level offering and the price-performance it provides for endpoint data encryption and security, it's clear that this is a company that should be on your radar screen if it isn't already.

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