Encryption

Why use encryption?

Whole disk encryption ensures that if a university owned computer is stolen or lost, the information on the computer is secure, and will not be accessed by anyone without the proper credentials. It is important that University of Louisville personnel storing sensitive information such as Protected Health Information (PHI), HIPAA, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), FERPA, or research data, protect their machines and data with whole disk encryption software.

Basic Windows passwords can easily be cracked and information that is not encrypted can easily be stolen if a computer falls in to the wrong hands. When laptops are stolen, the first question asked by security personnel will be "Was the laptop encrypted?" There is little to no performance degradation when utilizing this software, and this software can offer peace of mind concerning sensitive data, particularly data on the go. All computers owned by the University of Louisville need to have encryption software installed to protect information stored on them.

Please, contact the IT Helpdesk for assistance with encryption.

What About Apple Computers?

Please see the instructions for enabling FileVault for full disk encryption requirements. Click here for FileVault setup instructions.

After FileVault is installed, an agent can be installed alongside of FileVault. This agent will synchronize the FileVault recovery information to the Symantec Encryption Server. In the event of a system malfunction, Information Technology can use this information to assist in accessing the encrypted data.

FileVault uses strong AES 128-bit encryption to protect your data. FileVault comes standard with all modern versions of Apple OSX - the operating system shipped with every Apple computer.