TAC Drive: Secure, Rugged, Affordable

TAC Drive is equipped with an embedded FIPS 140-2-validated cryptographic module which utilizes a military-grade 256-bit AES encryption algorithm. Users have the option of encrypting files individually or as a group, so each file can be individually encrypted if desired. Files may also be stored in an unencrypted state.

No. Our design uses the industry dominant openSSL toolkit to handle all encryption, providing world class protection given a strong password. The flaw in password handling that compromised these other USB drives is not present in the design of the TAC Drive encryption manager, which is architecturally different from these other devices.

When you open a file, there are extra pieces of file data that can be left on your computer or your USB drive. These are called file remnants and can remain even after you close a file. The TAC Drive Wipe utility erases this sensitive data that may remain whenever you open your encrypted files.

Yes. You can make your Medical "My Profile" tab either public, hidden, or private (password-encrypted).

To maximize encryption of your transmitted data, we join 95% of the Fortune 500 and the world's 40 largest banks in utilizing Verisign Server Gated Cryptography (SGC)-enabled SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption to ensure 128- or 256-bit encryption for over 99.9% of Internet users. The secure databases that we use reside on dedicated servers with redundant, high-capacity fiber-optic connections to the Internet. These servers are housed in SAS70 Type II Data Centers, with multi-layered physical security and biometric access control. The servers are protected by cooling systems, backup generators, and fire suppression systems. Dedicated enterprise firewalls provide real-time protection from exploits.

Yes. Your account on the secure TAC Online website portal is accessible only after logging in with your password. With this password you will be able to change your personal information and perform other secure functions.

If you tell someone your password, they will have access. Otherwise your password is for you only. Administrators and staff at TAC Health and TAC Drive will not have access to your password, which is encrypted in our database. If you forget your TAC Online password, you can request a new password only through the email you have available on record.

We do not put any restrictions on your passwords or encryption keys. We allow you, the end-user, to determine how secure (or unsecure) you desire each document or file to be. Do you have any recommendations for creating an encryption key or a password? A good complex password is made up of more than just lower case letters and is long enough to take advantage of the full 256 bit encryption that TAC Drive provides. In general, the more different types of characters that you use and the longer you make your password, the more protective it will be. For example, if you only use lower case letters in your password, there will be only 26 options for each character. If you use both upper and lower case letters, numbers, and the space bar, though, suddenly your password can be any combination of 63 characters.

Password Length (Characters)	Number of Options for Each Character	Estimated Number of Potential Passwords	Estimated Hack Time with a Multiple-PC Workstation	Estimated Supercomputer Hack Time
4	26 (lower-case letters only)	456,976	<1 second	<1 second
6		308,915,776	3 seconds	<1 second
8		208,827,064,5761	35 minutes	3.5 minutes
12		95 quadrillion	30 years	3 years
16		43 sextillion	way too long	1.4 million years
32		2 quattuordecillion	256-bit encryption capability	256-bit encryption capability
4	63 (lower and upper-case letters, numbers, space bar)	15,752,961	<1 second	<1 second
6		62,523,502,209	<10 minutes	<1 minute
8		248,155,780,267,521	29 days	<3 days
12		4 sextillion	way too long	125,000 years
16		61 octillion	way, way too long	way, way too long
32		4 octodecillion	256-bit encryption capability	256-bit encryption capability

Example:

One method of choosing and remembering a complex password utilizes a mnemonic. Think of a song that you know and turn it into a password. In example, for America the Beautiful ['O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain!'] one could generate this 18 character password with ease: 0b4ss4awog4pmmAtfp. Although cumbersome to type, it is easy to remember and plenty long from an encryption standpoint. Take caution: The more common the song or phrase, the more likely it will reside in a hacker's dictionary.

Your personal records are private and confidential and are not shared with your sponsoring agency or employer.