Encryption FAQs
If this FAQ does not resolve any issue you may have, please email itav@sgul.ac.uk and we will endeavour to resolve your query as soon as possible. Please note SGUL has OneDrive which is a safe environment for saving information and can be accessed off-site. See the Quick Reference Card on the Onedrive pages for instructions on how to use it.
What is encryption? Encryption is a technique where data is encoded to be unreadable for anyone who doesn’t have the password. This helps to protect data from unauthorised access Why are we encrypting USB devices? All data saved from a university computer onto a USB stick will be encrypted and password protected. This means if your USB stick is lost or stolen, the information contained on it cannot be accessed by anyone who steals or finds it. This action is a recommendation of a cyber security audit. This could protect you from:
- Identity theft through unauthorised access to your personal details
- Data protection breaches, where your files contain personal information
- Unauthorised disclosure of classified information or intellectual property
What is the university encryption standard?
The standard we are encrypting to is AES256 and we are using a software program called BitLocker to achieve this.
How does encryption work?
Encryption uses an algorithm to code data in such a way that only the person with the “key” to that algorithm can unlock it. You will have used a very basic form of encryption as a child if you ever wrote a coded message. The difference here is the number of possible “keys”. If you use a basic letter substitution cipher (A = B, E = G etc.), you have 26 possible values for each letter*. With AES encryption you have 1.1 x 1077 options – a nigh impossible number of options to currently compute.
*technically you have even less than that.
How do I use encryption at SGUL?
When you plug in a USB device you will have the option to encrypt it in order to ‘write to’ it or make it ‘read only’. If you choose to encrypt make a note of the password that you have set and store it safely. When you plug your USB stick into another computer to access your data, you will be asked for this password.
How long does it take to encrypt a USB stick?
It can take some time to encrypt a USB stick (as much as 45minutes, depending on the size of the USB stick). Once your USB stick has been encrypted, documents will save in the usual amount of time.
Drive and data can be destroyed if the USB stick is removed before encryption is completed.
What if I lose my encryption password?
When saving your data to your USB stick, you will also have the option to print or save a recovery key (an automatically-generated, device-specific long password) to a file. If you lose the password then you can use the saved recovery key.
Please be sure to keep your recovery key and USB stick separate. The SGUL IT team also store recovery keys should passwords get lost.
Contact ITAV@sgul.ac.uk if you need your recovery key retrieving. Please do not rely on this.
What if I'm presenting at another organisation and I'm having difficulty accessing my encrypted USB stick?
To avoid any issues, it is recommended best practice to have access to more than one version of the presentation, for example:
- Email your presentation to the event organiser, if there is one
- Upload your presentation to OneDrive (you will need internet access when you retrieve the presentation)
- Email your presentation to yourself (again you will need internet access when you retrieve the presentation)
- Take your own laptop and deliver the presentation directly from it.
- Contact your host institution to check that their machines are able to open “Bitlocker” encrypted devices.
I have a PC connected to scientific equipment that isn't on the network and I need to transfer data between the two - how do I do it?
If you find yourself in this situation please contact ITAV support via email and we will deal with your issue on an individual basis.
Will Bitlocker to Go make my USB stick 'read only'?
Yes, Bitlocker will make your USB stick 'read only' for the duration it's plugged into your PC. If you select to encrypt the device in order to save to it then it will be read only until encryption is complete.
How does Bitlocker to Go affect USB sticks with inbuilt encryption?
We would generally advise against using these as there is the possibility of introducing errors with other software. If you still wish to go ahead you will need to double encrypt in order to write to your USB stick. Enter the 'inbuilt encryption' password for the stick. The Bitlocker software will then ask if you wish to open the USB stick as 'read only' or to encrypt with Bitlocker in order to write.
What about formatting a USB stick?
When you’re formatting a USB stick it will ask you which filesystem you would like to use. It will default to FAT32. However, if your USB stick is larger than 32GB you should select NTFS.
Which operating systems will encrypted USB sticks open on?
Bitlocker will open on most versions of MS Windows. If the computer you are trying to 'decrypt' on is operating in a professional environment then this should be licensed appropriately and Bitlocker should be available. You will need Bitlocker to Go reader for Vista and XP.
How do I read and write to a SGUL Bitlockered removable drive on OSX
We have checked with Finance about payment of £60 for Mac software. As we do not support Macs, and they are purchased through department budgets on the understanding that they are not supported and that users must comply with our agreed IT Policy, then it is up to individuals to purchase the necessary software from the budget from which the Macs were originally purchased.
Bitlocker doesn’t seem to want to encrypt my USB stick?
Troubleshoot!
Do you have another stick you can try that has data on it already?
Are you connecting the stick directly to the PC ports at the front or back?
Open the writable USB device in read mode. Copy the data to your HDD and then format stick and try to encrypt it again.