Quoted:

IMHO, any old flashdrive plus Truecrypt is a better option.

here is my encrypted directory structure:

auto/
- pics of my truck and wifes car.
- scan of vehicle registrations for above.
- scan of vehicle insurance for above.
- pdf repair manual for my truck.

bins/
- binaries of applications, e.g. Acrobat, Truecrypt, EchoLink, Firefox Portable, PortaPutty, etc

financial/
- prior year tax return
- scan of bank account statement.
- scan of employer paystub.
- scan of employer 401K account.
- scan of Fidelity brokerage account statement.
- scan of one each credit card statements.

firearms/
- scan of any transaction records proving i'm the lawful owner.
- pics of weapons for insurance purposes.
- name, address, & number of a couple of FFL's.
- PDF versions of teardown/cleaning manuals.

gps/
- PDF manuals for my Etrex and Magellan RM800.
- latest application to download new firmware to gps's in case of corruption.

ham/
- scan of amateur radio license.
- scan of RACES/ARES cards.
- pics of rigs for insurance purposes.
- field expedient antenna construction articles.
- PDF user manuals for VX170, IC24AT, IC703+, V8000, FT8800, etc
- FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies.
- various frequency reference guides for local police/fire/govt.

house/
- scan of deed.
- scans of mortgage paperwork.
- scans of any township docs (tax assessment, etc).

insurance/
- scan of homeowner's insurance policy.
- pictures of items which have non-trivial replacement costs (e.g., wife's engagement ring).
- scans of appraisals for any items which have non-trivial replacement costs.
- scan of life insurance policy
- scan of will

maps/
- East coast, state, and county maps in PDF format.
- above, annotated with PDF postnotes regarding "places of interest".

medical/
- PDF of FM4-25.11, basic military first aid.
- PDF for proper application of a tourniquet in the field.
- various other first aid reference manuals.

numbers/
- scan of household address book, includes all family/friends/etc.
- PDF of number directory at work.
- text file with contents of cellphone memory.

passports/
- scans of my and my wife's passports.

pics/
- family pictures.
- parents / siblings pictures.

shtf/
- SHTF planning documents
- PDF survival guides, desert/blizzard/shelter building/etc
- 14 part PDF survival document from WHO
> 1 - Cleaning and disinfecting wells.pdf
> 2 - Cleaning and disinfecting boreholes.pdf
> 3 - Cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks.pdf
> 4 - Rehabilitating small-scale water distributions systems.pdf
> 5 - Emergency treatment of drinking water.pdf
> 6 - Rehabilitating water treatment works.pdf
> 7 - Solid waste management in emergencies.pdf
> 8 - Disposal of dead bodies.pdf
> 9 - Minimum water quantity.pdf
> 10 - Essential hygiene messages.pdf
> 11 - How to measure chlorine residual.pdf
> 12 - Delivering safe water.pdf
> 13 - Emergency sanitation - planning.pdf
> 14 - Emergency sanitation - technical.pdf

wallet/
- scans (front and back) of everything in my wallet, incl credit cards, DL, social security card, employer ID, healthcare cards, etc. note that it's important to scan the back as there is always useful info there –– for example, generally the "report lost/stolen card" contact number for your credit card company is on the back.

––––––

anyway, that's what i have on my 1GB USB key. my Truecrypt file is 400MB big, and i keep a copy of that same file on my home PC, my wife's laptop, my work computer, and obviously on my USB key on my person. once a year i snail-mail a burned CD to my parents out in PA, and tell them to put it in with their important papers.

forgot to say that you should dupe everything for your wife/SO/GF

Quoted:
Secure it with
www.truecrypt.org/
-Foxxz

+ 1,048,576.

the HUGE ADVANTAGE with using TrueCrypt over a "hardware encrypted USB drive" is that you can store, copy, transmit, duplicate, etc etc your TrueCrypt vault (= a file) as many times as you want, in as many places as you want, on as many types of media as you want.

in other words, you fell into the water, your USB key is ruined?

no problem, your TrueCrypt vault is also on your PC's hard drive at home, on your PC at work, on another USB flash drive in your BOB, on another USB flash drive in your BOV center console, on a CD at your parents house in a drawer, on a CD in a safe deposit box in a bank, on a networked server fileshare on the other side of the world, etc etc etc.

2 is 1, 1 is none.
having one HW-encrypted store of your stuff is a single point of failure.

ar-jedi

ETA, from a prior post

Quoted:
FYI is there any advantage to the thumb drive over a couple of CD's?

the USB drive is easily updatable as new info is found/old info is changed. the USB key is easier to hang around your neck, or stuff in your BOB/pack. but keep reading...

Quoted:
Can you set a password for the thumb drive?

don't encrypt the entire USB key. instead, see my link above for TrueCrypt software (open source, free, very good). use it to make an encrypted container, and that's where your docs will go into.

ETA:
the main reason you don't want to encrypt the entire key is that in order to decrypt the key on some random computer you found, you would first need to install the decryption software. which you would get from where? so there is a chicken-vs-egg problem.

hence, make a container within the USB key; encrypt that. OUTSIDE THE CONTAINER, place the truecrypt installer application AND use the "Make Traveller" function from within truecrypt. the latter will add all the necessary bits to the USB key to unencrypt the container without having to actully install truecrypt on the PC. and, having the actual installer application is just backup.

don't make the container larger than about 600-650MB. why not? keep reading...

Quoted:
Is it EMP proof?

no one knows. so, in true ARFCOM fashion, "get both". make a CD copy once every 6 months or so, and perhaps keep a second USB key in an RF proof box somewhere with the rest of your electronic SHTF stuff. nevertheless, if there is an EMP strong enough to take out your USB key, it probably means you have huge problems forthcoming!

as noted way way way above, i periodically make a copy of my USB key onto a CD, and send it off to my parents in another state (aka cheap offsite storage). this is why you should not make the encrypted container larger than 600-650MB –– otherwise it will not fit onto a CD.

ar-jedi

Quoted:

IMHO, any old flashdrive plus Truecrypt is a better option.

Quoted:
Other encryption programs don't protect against a brute force attack.  

The design and strength of all key lengths of the AES algorithm (i.e., 128, 192 and 256) are sufficient to protect classified information up to the SECRET level. TOP SECRET information will require use of either the 192 or 256 key lengths.

AES

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) specifies a FIPS-approved cryptographic algorithm (Rijndael, designed by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, published in 1998) that may be used by US federal departments and agencies to cryptographically protect sensitive information [3]. TrueCrypt uses AES with 14 rounds and a 256-bit key (i.e., AES-256, published in 2001) operating in XTS mode (see the section Modes of Operation).

In June 2003, after the NSA (US National Security Agency) conducted a review and analysis of AES, the U.S. CNSS (Committee on National Security Systems) announced in [1] that the design and strength of AES-256 (and AES-192) are sufficient to protect classified information up to the Top Secret level. This is applicable to all U.S. Government Departments or Agencies that are considering the acquisition or use of products incorporating the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to satisfy Information Assurance requirements associated with the protection of national security systems and/or national security information [1].

Hardware Encryption

Data: AES Cipher-Block Chained mode
Encryption Keys: 128 Hardware DRNG

Quoted:
I would also like to add it is quite possible to use an Ironkey Drive with True crypt.

Quoted:


if the plans for the Death Star had been protected using both an Ironkey and Truecrypt, the Galactic Empire would probably still be around as the Rebel Alliance would have not been able to find the 2m wide thermal exhaust port...  but i digress.

ar-jedi

Quoted:

Good post and info - now I just need to scan all those documents . . .