McAfee Endpoint Encryption™ (formerly SafeBoot Disk Encryption) is a scalable, enterprise-wide security solution that uses strong access control and powerful encryption to prevent unauthorized access to or use of PCs, laptops, and tablet PCs, as well as data on their hard disks. It uses pre-boot protection to authenticate users and supports Single Sign On. It uses algorithms such as RC5-1024 and AES-256 to encrypt data on all storage drives.

Encryption and decryption are transparent to the user and performed on the fly, with virtually no performance loss. Its central management capabilities feature extensive, mandatory security policies, audit functionality and secure recovery.

Business challenge
McAfee Endpoint Encryption has made it easier for users to secure critical information. But simply using passwords to authenticate users can still put a company at risk, as the use of passwords, apart from being inconvenient, has well-known and widely published security limitations. For that reason McAfee Endpoint Encryption foresees in its pre-boot authentication function with smart cards and USB tokens, including those types that feature PKI functionality.

The combination of SafeSign Identity Client (IC) with McAfee Endpoint Encryption pre-boot authentication offers a unique combination of authentication, access control and hard disk encryption.

SafeSign IC enforces two factor security, requiring the end user to have both the USB token or smart card (something you have) and a Personal Identity Number (something you know). USB tokens and smart cards are physically and logically tamper resistant, ensuring that the end user’s digital credentials can not be copied, modified or shared.