New Kid on the block - Mass storage devices (Blu-Ray and HD DVD)
In this section - Security Issues with Blue tooth devices
Too busy to read. Watch the short video instead by clicking the image below !!
They got the looks and most importantly capacity. They are going to be generation next’s choice of mass storage. Yep, the Blu-Ray and HD DVD is going to be the next data storage device of the masses.
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Capacity |
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Blu-Ray |
HD DVD |
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ROM single layer: Theoretical limit: |
23.3 / 25GB |
Single layer: |
15GB |
Let us take a peep at how Blu-Ray and HD DVD will affect corporate date security. If Corporates are planning to store data in ordinary CD’s or DVD’s they must think twice because CD technology was never produced with any encryption.
But this is all going to change with the arrival of Blu-Ray and HD DVD. These gigantic storage devices come with a solution for security. They are rich in security features. Let’s take a look;
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Security |
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Blu-Ray |
HD DVD |
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Advanced Access Content System (AACS) |
Advanced Access Content System (AACS) |
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Mandatory HDCP encrypted output |
Mandatory HDCP encrypted output (for HD) |
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ROM-Mark watermarking technology |
Volume identifier (physical layer) |
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BD+ dynamic crypto (physical layer) |
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When you insert a new HD-DVD into an HDVD player, it goes through crypto functions literally between the drive in the player and the player. Even the bus between the drive and the player’s motherboard is dynamically encrypted. And there is public key exchange happening between the device and the player inside to prevent somebody from sniffing the interconnection between the HD-DVD, the physical optical reader, and the motherboard. This thing is, just locked down !!
Blu-ray has one step more of encryption, which is one of the things that Sony is trying to build. But there are some issues because Blu-Ray is in a format that is not compatible with existing DVD production, whereas with HD-DVD you’re able to retool your existing DVD production line in order to produce HD-DVDs. In case of Blu-ray, the ,manufacturer must invest in brand new equipment to build Blu-Ray drives from scratch. I mean, you’ve just got to create a completely new production facility. In return for that, you do get more storage and more security.
But remember this - there’s no such thing as an un-crackable system. An encryption system is only as strong as the person who has the passphrase. Often, technology fails because of the human factor !!
By Asok Ramachandran