RE: encrypting swap

[Anders M Montonen <ammonton@cc.helsinki.fi>]

On Thu, 17 Aug 2000, Strohm Thomas (FV/SLD) * wrote:

> > The problem with this method is that with suitable equipment, 
> > reading a drive wiped in this way is pretty easy.
> Oops. Sounds interesting, but kind of disturbing as well. I can
> only guess. If you perform the magnetisation representing the zero 
> (say), is there still a remainder of the old magnetisation (kind of
> corona around the new bit) that can be detected?

That, and the fact that the R/W head doesn't pass *exactly* over the old
track when writing, leaves enough of a trace to read the old data. There
are companies providing this type of service, eg. www.ibas.no. It is
extremely expensive, but if your harddrive containing vital information
burned up in a fire, chances are they can still read it.

-anders



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