Some basic encryption programs may not be providing firms with the level of IT security they might expect, it has been claimed.

ITpro.co.uk reports research conducted by Princeton University's Centre for Information Technology Policy which found that disk encryption products that come as standard with the Vista, Mac OX and Linux operating systems are "easily defeated".

Alex Halderman who worked on the project said: "Disk encryption, the standard approach to protecting sensitive data on laptops, can be defeated by relatively simple methods."

He explained that the keys used by the programs could be extract from the computer's memory, even after it had been switched off.

"This is deadly for disk encryption products because they rely on keeping master decryption keys in [their memory]," he said.
Previously, this had been thought safe as when a computer is on the operating system will protect the memory against attacks and, previously, no one thought the data could be accessed after the machine had been powered down.

Speaking to ITPro.co.uk, computer scientist Guy Bunker said that people will either have to invest in other IT security measures or wait until firms issue a patch to correct the problem.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).