Hard disk encryption/Using mac in NHS?

Question

Hard disk encryption/Using mac in NHS?

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience using a mac (legally) in the NHS? I have been in touch with the IT dept at the Trust I work in, and have been told "they don't support macs". Apparently whole disk encryption is required. It seems the MacAffee encryption software that the NHS uses does not work on macs. I have tried to find mac encryption software on the CESG and under the Common Criteria to argue my case, but haven't been successful. Surely it's possible to encrypt a mac and use in the NHS (I don't even need to connect to the netowrk, just work with the odd bit of patient information)????? I'm sure there must be other mac users who have experienced similar problems, but haven't been able to find any entries in the forums - apologies if I have missed the blindingly obvious.

Any advice gratefully received!

Macbook Pro 17", Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Nov 15, 2009 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

K T

Level 7

23,895 points

Nov 15, 2009 12:30 PM in response to Julian Hamann1

Hello Hambot & welcome to discussions...

You can use Disk Utility to make encrypted volumes/folders or just enable File Vault, but it's not something I recommend for normal use...

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Answer 2

BobHarris

Level 9

57,011 points

Nov 15, 2009 3:40 PM in response to Julian Hamann1

There is *PGP Whole Disk Encryption*
<http://www.pgp.com/wde/>
<http://na.store.pgp.com/whole disk_encryptionmac.html>

There it TrueCrypt
<http://www.truecrypt.org/>

NOTE: Not sure if these products are supported on Snow Leopard yet. Also I do not know if they are certified for government use.

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Answer 3

Nov 16, 2009 4:07 AM in response to BobHarris

Thank you for your responses. Unfortunately the Mac disk utility is not sufficient, as it is not whole disk encryption. I have looked at PGP and truecrypt, which I'm sure would do the job, but I have been told "no, get a windows-based computer". I have contacted the CESG, which advises on such matters, but apparently they don't have any Mac approved software either, and can't advise on an appropriate level of security. This is apparently up to the individual trust, who need to do an impact assessment (but it is clearly much easier just to say no!)....If anyone has had any luck getting their Mac approved for hospital use, I'd be interested to hear. Surely someone in the world's third largest employer uses a Mac at work 🙂

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Answer 4

BDND85

Level 1

9 points

Jan 16, 2010 11:44 AM in response to Julian Hamann1

I work with one of the largest independent broker dealers in the US and they recommend and approve using PGP. I would imagine they have made sure PGP's encryption is suitable to FINRA/SEC standards. Maybe that would help?

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Answer 5

Jan 19, 2010 1:55 PM in response to BDND85

Thanks BDNB85. I've done some rooting around and in brief summary, the NHS information governance data encryption algorithms currently applicable are: 3DES (168bit), AES 256, Blowfish - I don't fully understand these terms, but will check PGP to see if they meet these requirements.

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