Excellent Study “Cold Boot Attacks on Encryption Keys”
One of the current hot topics in security is the implementation of disk encryption to protect sensitive and personal information. This is obviously better then no security at all but even disk encryption has it’s weakness.
I was doing research for a lecture on “Cold Boot Attacks” when I found this study done at the Princeton University, Center for Information Technology Policy. This is one the best studies on the subject I have found thus far. If you haven’t read much about “Cold Boot Attacks” this would be an excellent primer.
I have included the YouTube video and the Abstract for quick access to there website but I do recommend you read the full research paper provided for all the details from the CITP website.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDaicPIgn9U
Abstract Contrary to popular assumption, DRAMs used in most modern computers retain their contents for seconds to minutes after power is lost, even at operating temperatures and even if removed from a motherboard. Although DRAMs become less reliable when they are not refreshed, they are not immediately erased, and their contents persist sufficiently for malicious (or forensic) acquisition of usable full-system memory images. We show that this phenomenon limits the ability of an operating system to protect cryptographic key material from an attacker with physical access. We use cold reboots to mount attacks on popular disk encryption systems — BitLocker, FileVault, dm-crypt, and TrueCrypt — using no special devices or materials. We experimentally characterize the extent and predictability of memory remanence and report that remanence times can be increased dramatically with simple techniques. We offer new algorithms for finding cryptographic keys in memory images and for correcting errors caused by bit decay. Though we discuss several strategies for partially mitigating these risks, we know of no simple remedy that would eliminate them.
I would like to know if you use disk encryption and if so what type of setup are you using? I would also like to know what you think about the risk of “Cold Boot Attacks” in the comments?
