2. Encryption Architecture & Strategies
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Site Security Example: Medium Security Site
Description of organization: Medium-sized organization with 250 employees.
Security Considerations
Security goals
Protecting company from legal liability associated with unauthorized access to
data stored on tape onsite and offsite, including transport to the offsite location.
Encryption principals
IT senior staff, chief operating officer.
Data to encrypt
Intellectual property, financial, customer, and inventory data.
Level of security to
implement
• BlueScale Professional Edition, with multiple keys
• Standard initialization mode: encryption partitions enabled at start-up
• Multi-user mode, with three encryption passwords
Data sets requiring
isolation from other
encrypted data
Separate partitions and keys for these data sets: financial data, inventory data,
customer data, and intellectual property data. With this requirement, the site
must use a minimum of four encryption-enabled partitions, along with partition(s)
for non-encrypted data.
Key escrow method
Store key copies with corporate legal counsel and a paid, trusted, third-party
escrow service.
Number of copies of each
key to store, and locations
Keep three copies of each key: store one with corporate legal counsel, two with
the key escrow service.
Key rotation plan
Create a new key every quarter for each partition dedicated to encryption.
Tracking key monikers,
exported key passwords,
and password to permit
access to encryption
features
Send to key escrow service an encrypted document that includes the password
used to access encryption features, superuser password, and all passwords
necessary to import encryption keys. This file cannot be created or stored on a
networked computer. Delete file from computer after the document or file is
transmitted securely to key escrow service.
Multiple encryption teams
Three IT administrators, along with the senior IT admin and the COO.
Schedule and run drills
Annual evaluation and review, along with wider corporate security plan.
Passwords
• Passwords to access encryption features: minimum of 12 characters,
including at least one number and one letter
• Password to export and import encryption keys: minimum of 30 characters,
including at least one number and one letter