Have you been looking for a simple and affordable solution to add bullet proof security to your system or your data storage equipment? The Addonics family of CipherChain is the answer. Designed using the same field proven Addonics Diamond Cipher and Ruby Cipher AES 256-bit crypto engine (NIST & CSE certified), the Addonics CipherChain or CipherChain-e is a small encryption module, size of a Compact Flash, that can be easily installed into any computing equipment. Practically any Desktop PC, Servers, Rack Mounted systems, Kiosk or external storage system can be secured with the CipherChain.
The standard CipherChain comes with two internal SATA ports to encrypt any internal SATA device. The CipherChain-e, a model that comes equipped with eSATA port to connect to external storage device, can be use to secure the data stored in any external storage devices with the same AES 256-bit encryption.
Simple to use
Similar to all other Addonics encryption products, the CipherChain or CipherChain-e is a pure hardware solution. This means that there is no software to run, no driver to install and no password to remember. There is very little user training required to use the CipherChain. All the user needs to do is to insert the correct Cipher key before powering on the system or the storage device. The family of CipherChain can be operated under any operating system and this makes the CipherChain or the CipherChain-e an ideal security solution for organization with heterogeneous computing environment and legacy systems.
Easy to install
The CipherChain family of product is a simple pass through device that works with any SATA I/II hard drive, SSD (Solid State Drive) or storage device with SATA interface. The SATA hard drive to be encrypted is first connected to the device side of the CipherChain and the host side (blue SATA connector) of the CipherChain in turn connects to the SATA port on the system board or a SATA controller. For CipherChain-e. the device side is equipped with a eSATA port to encrypt any eSATA storage device.
Both the CipherChain and CipherChain-e are a small module that can easily fit into practically any computer or storage equipment. Addonics provides a wide choice of mounting brackets to install the CipherChain and the CipherChain-e into various systems via a 3.5" drive bay, a 5.25" drive bay, a slim CD drive bay, a PCI slot or the SCSI-I (Centronic 50) punch out commonly found on many external drive enclosures. There is also dual CipherChain bracket to install up to two CipherChains to encrypt as many as two storage devices in one bracket. Since each CipherChain works independently, you may install as many CipherChains as needed for the number of storage devices that you wish to secure in your system. Depending on your security control strategy, you may use Cipher keys with the same or different key code for each CipherChain.
Security
CipherChain and CipherChain-e are a full disk encryption solution. This means that the boot sector, partition table and all the information in the drive are encrypted. When the main drive (boot drive) of a system is connected to the CipherChain, the system will be disabled without the Cipher key. Storage device protected by the CipherChain will become inaccessible without the Cipher key. If the CipherChain encrypted drive is stolen and is connected to another system, the drive will appear as a brand new drive with no trace of any data.
The AES 256-bit encryption provided by the CipherChain and CipherChain-e is considered as the highest level of encryption standard, secure enough to protect classified information designated as Top Secret. You can raise the security level to increasingly complex level by simply daisy chaining two or more CipherChains. There is no theoretical limit as to the number of CipherChain that can be linked together in this fashion. For practical purpose, it is impossible to penetrate even the encryption of a single CipherChain. The daisy chaining of two or more CipherChains will raise the security to another level when each Cipher key is controlled by different person.
Performance
The CipherChain or CipherChain-e encrypts and decrypts data on the fly using a NIST & CSE certified cryptographic AES engine. Unlike software encryption product which depends on the system CPU to encrypt and decrypt the data, the CipherChain product has no impact to CPU utilization.. This leaves the system CPU to perform all its computing task at normal speed. There is also no measurable impact to the performance on the hard drive. So there is no noticeable performance difference between a system equipped with or without the CipherChain.
Cipher key
The AES 256-bit Cipher key used for the encryption/decryption in the CipherChain is the same Cipher key as used in the Addonics Diamond Cipher drive kit and Ruby Cipher drive kit. As a result, you can share the same encryption key to operate on the storage device that has been encrypted by either the CipherChain, Diamond Cipher or Ruby Cipher drive kit. You may also order Cipher keys with the same key codes when you order multiple CipherChain kits or Cipher keys. You may also re-programmed the Cipher keys to other codes using the optional key management system or sending the keys to Addonics for the re-programming service at no charge.
Product features
- Great for the following applications:
- Secure a system from unauthorized access
- Prevent sensitive data from unauthorized access when the storage device is lost or stolen
- Shipping or transporting storage devices containing sensitive data.
- Encrypt an entire RAID volume or a specific storage device within a RAID volume
- Support encrypting the following storage devices:
- SATA I/II hard drive or SSD
- RAID storage created by Port Multiplier
- Removable drive storage system - Addonics Drive Cartridge Systems or Mobile Rack with SATA connection
- Compact Flash media using Addonics SATA-CF hard disk adapter
- IDE drives with Addonics IDE - SATA converter.
- AES 256-bit encryption - the highest level of encryption standard
- Full disk encryption. No traceable data when the encrypted drive is connected to any system.
- Simple to use - no software to run or any password to remember
- No training required. Encryption / Decryption via a hardware key
, just like using a regular key to open a door.
- Size of a Compact Flash. The CipherChain is small enough to fit into practically any equipment
- Easily mount into any system via either a drive bay or a PCI slot
- Install into external storage enclosures such as Addonics Storage Towers and Storage Rack via the SCSI - 1 punch-out or one of the drive bays.
- Multiple CipherChains can be daisy chained to achieve incredibly complex security level.
- High performance - up to 150 MB/sec
- OS independent - can be used on any systems
Specifications
- Onboard AES 256-bit crypto engine
- SATA I/II compliant
- SATA connectors:
- Blue - for connecting to host
- Black - for connecting to device
- LEDs:
- Green - for power and the presence of key code
- Yellow - drive access activity
- RESET: To clear key code and reset the CipherChains. This also remove the drive icon when the storage device is removed from the CipherChain and the connected SATA supports hot swap.
- Disable RESET jumper - to disable the RESET button.
- Maximum throughput - 150 MB/sec
- Small 4-P power connector
- Input power: 5V @ 150 mA
- Dimension: 41 x 48.5 x 8 mm (1.61 x 1.9 x .31 in)
- Weight: 12 g (0.4 oz)
- Operating temperature and humidity: 0 C to + 75 C, 5% - 95% (non condensing)
- Storage temperature and humidity: -40 C to + 85 C, 5% - 90% humidity
System requirement:
- Any system with 1 available SATA port
- Standard 4P Molex power connector or floppy drive power connector
- One of the following mounting options:
- 3.5" drive bay
- slim CD drive bay
- 5.25" drive bay (require optional 3.5" to 5.25" drive bay mounting bracket)
- OS: Any Operating System
