Information Security Office

Office of Information Technology

SafeBoot is a data encryption software package that is required for all university-owned laptops that contain sensitive data.

In June 2005, UT System released UTS165, the Information Resources Use and Security Policy which requires that laptops with sensitive data be encrypted.  UT System has contracted with SafeBoot to provide an encryption solution for PCs.   

SafeBoot protects a PC by simply taking control of the hard disk from the operating system.  The SafeBoot driver encrypts every piece of data written to the disk; it also decrypts every piece of information read off the disk.  If an unauthorized application were to break through the SafeBoot barrier to read the disk directly, it would find only encrypted data – even in the Windows swap file and temporary file areas.

How do I determine if I have sensitive data on my laptop?  Go to the Data Classification Standard to read the definitions.  If you have Category I or II data on your laptop, you are required to have SafeBoot encryption.

SafeBoot is a software solution for PCs that run on a Windows operating system.  It does not work on Macintosh PCs, which have their own encryption capabilities.

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Revised: 02/01/2008
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