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Data Encryption

In order to protect both the privacy of individuals within the university community and the reputation of the university, all employees working with confidential information must take measures to protect information in their care. One measure, to reduce the risk of unintentional information exposure resulting from loss or theft of mobile devices, is to employ encryption.

Information is available for:

Laptop Full-Disk Encryption with SecureDoc

The university has licensed SecureDoc Enterprise by WinMagic for encrypting university-owned laptops. SecureDoc provides centralized management of encryption keys to facilitate data recovery in the event an end-user has forgotten his or her passphrase. IST has tested SecureDoc with both Windows-based computers and Macs. SecureDoc does have limited support for Linux.

Full-disk encryption should be used on all university-owned laptops where confidential data may be stored. While IST has licensed a commercial solution, employees are free to use other solutions, such as Truecrypt, to accomplish this with the understanding that IST is not able to support solutions other than the licenced commercial standard.

Download SecureDoc


BlackBerry Encryption

Members of the university community that work with confidential data on their BlackBerry devices should enable device encryption, also known as Content Protection, to safeguard information in the event the device is lost or stolen. The specific steps for enabling encryption varies slightly depending on the model. In essence, do the following:

  1. Enable password protection on the device. (a minimum password length of 6 characters is recommended)
  2. Enable device encryption (may be labelled as Content Protection).
Security features on the BlackBerry device are accessed in the Options -> Security menu or Options -> Security Options menu.

Playbook Encryption

If your Playbook is paired with your BlackBerry, and the above security features are enabled on the BlackBerry, then no further action is required to secure the Playbook. If you use your Playbook without pairing it with a BlackBerry, then unfortunately there are no known means to encrypt the data on the Playbook.

iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Encryption

The operating system for Apple's mobile device portfolio, iOS, offers device encryption at the hardware level referred to as data protection. Data protection is only available on newer devices including iPhone 3GS and later, all iPad models, and iPod touch (3rd generation and later). On supported devices, data protection is enabled when you create a passcode.

Encryption of Android-based devices

Devices based on Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" (and newer) have the capability to support encryption; however, support may vary from device to device. Please check your device documentation or on-line help for more information.

Getting Help

If you require assistance, please contact your local computing support provider or the IST CHIP.