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Mighty Small: Larry Dalton's Tiny Lock Has Vast Power to Right Crime

NCJ Number
176949
Journal
Security Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1999 Pages: 22-26
Author(s)
T O'Connell
Date Published
1999
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Sandia National Laboratories, a national security laboratory operated for the U.S. Department of Energy, has developed a digital isolation and incompatibility device to ensure the security of the Nation's nuclear weapons hardware, and this device has been modified for use in personal computer systems.
Abstract
The civilian application is referred to as the Recodable Locking Device (RLD), the world's smallest combination lock. The RLD is used as an extremely high-assurance lock to prevent unauthorized access to protected information within a computer software-based system, such as personal computers and network servers. The RLD will not stop certain common hackers, but it is guaranteed to keep them out of normally inhibited systems. The device is based on physical security that totally isolates owner functions from the computer operating system or other software. In typical computer systems, the RLD can isolate proprietary information on personal computers and private networks to provide absolute certainty against unauthorized access. For example, the RLD can protect medical histories, financial records, and proprietary information on the development of new technologies. The construction and operation of the device are described, and future improvements to the RLD are noted. 5 photographs