Victorian Electronic Records Strategy


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Introduction

Standard
(Version 1)
  Specification 1
  Specification 2
  Specification 3

Standard
(Version 2)
  Specification 1
  Specification 2
  Specification 3
  Specification 4
  Specification 5
  Advice 9
  Advice 10
  Advice 11
  Advice 12
  Advice 13
  Advice 14

Home > Standard > Standard (Version 2) > Advice 13 > Use of Encryption/Passwords/Copy Protection

5 Use of Encryption/Passwords/Copy Protection

Encryption, passwords, and copy protection are used to secure the contents of a file from unauthorised access.

Encryption encrypts the contents of a file to prevent unauthorised access. Access is dependent on knowing the decryption key.
Password protection is usually combined with encryption. The application will not open the file unless the correct password has been supplied.
Copy protection uses a variety of mechanisms to prevent unauthorised copying. It is typically used to protect the rights of copyright holders.

All three mechanisms are designed to prevent unauthorised access. The purpose of an archive is to provide indefinite access to records. These two purposes can clash; just who is authorised to access a record is something that may change over the life of a record. Ultimately, records that are initially extremely confidential may be available for anyone to access.

The use of encryption and password protection opens the possibility of losing the record if the decryption key or password is lost. The potential for loss of keys or passwords is particularly high when there is a significant delay in converting the record to a long-term preservation format. While there are agencies that require the additional protection of encryption, PROV strongly recommends that protection against unauthorised access be implemented using the normal system security and that record contents not be encrypted or protected by passwords.

PROV will not accept any permanent records that are encrypted or protected by passwords, as the risk of losing the record through loss of the decryption key or password is too high.

The use of copy protection is likely to significantly impede conversion of the record content to a long-term preservation format. It is also likely to cause the loss of the record content due to the difficulty of re-implementing the copy protection scheme.

PROV will not accept any permanent records that use copy protection.

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