Data Formats

Index

Overview

Original (Raw) Data

CerebraLock Documents

Private App Documents

Overview top

Data can come in many different formats. In order to get a handle on this variety and implement its own functionality, CerebraLock puts the data into files with different proprietary formats.

Original (Raw) Data top

Original or raw data files are just that: files presented to CerebraLock from other apps or built-in hardware. Let's call these simply files.

CerebraLock Documents top

CerebraLock creates a group of logically linked documents for each original. These parts contain the metadata (descriptive information), original (raw) data in locked or unlocked form, and the locks used to encrypt the original data. Let's call these documents. When a document is created it and its metadata are automatically locked.

Packages top

You can select multiple documents and combine them into a single document called a package. Packages are much like an archive, but no compression is performed.

You can view, open and lock or unlock a package, but you cannot edit it. To add or remove documents you have to create a new package.

Vaults top

Vaults are special documents to exchange data with others and to keep your own data extra secure. Vaults have two compartments, one for normal access and one for coerced access which may contain decoy data. You can think of each compartment as an e-mail message with three parts: a title, a message and attachments. Each part is optional. Attachments are stored as a package.

You can view and open a vault, but you cannot edit it. To add or remove documents you have to create a new vault.

You are required to perform an access sequence each time you access a vault. In this way you can decide on which compartment to open at the time of access. This makes a vault the most secure way to store information.

Containers top

Containers are images in which documents are hidden with a process called steganography (See Terminology and Concepts: Steganography.)

Containers offer several benefits: it is not obvious that an image contains hidden data. Images can be easily e-mailed and stored. Images can be exported to and imported from your photo library on your device or iPhoto.

Drawbacks are: containers can become large! They are limited in the amount of hidden data they can contain. And editing or converting a container image in any way will destroy the contained data!

Records top

Records are small pieces of information like phone numbers, e-mail addresses or web addresses. These are documents which do something. Depending on the kind of information it contains, opening a record dials a phone number, initiates a FaceTime call, starts an e-mail or takes you to a website (with user name and password conveniently available on the pasteboard).

See Records for more details.

Private App Documents top

Private app documents include locks, item sets, identities and settings.

Locks, item sets and identities can be exported as special sealed files to the Shared folder. You can share these files with other identities on this or other devices. In order to export one of these files you will have to go through an access sequence to make sure you are doing the exporting.

To import, you also have to go through an access sequence. For extra protection this will be a fallback sequence.

It is not recommended that you keep these files longer than necessary. They contain very important data! Delete them after you're done with your task. If you do want to keep them around, then store these files in a secure place! Even though they are encrypted, it is still better not to expose them to potential attackers.

Editing top

CerebraLock's primary purpose is to store your documents securely and, to a lesser degree, to let you acquire documents from various sources. The only kinds of documents you can edit are records, images and text documents.

Viewing top

Viewing documents is accomplished by temporarily unlocking documents into their original format and then using the device's built-in document viewer or web browser to display or, in the case of multimedia, play them. A wide range of different document types can be viewed, among them: text files, images, PDF files, web pages, audio and video files.

Your data is vulnerable while it's being viewed! Not only does the viewing process itself reveal the information, but the data is stored unencrypted during viewing! Should the app crash or be otherwise prevented from cleaning up after viewing then these documents are just lying around.

To minimize these risks:
• don't view large numbers of documents at once. Instead, use the 'Open' function for packages and vaults - this keeps the document data encrypted while showing you thumbnails.
• make a habit of logging out when leaving the app for long periods of time. This will clean up all temporary folders.

Exporting top

You can export documents as original files or CerebraLock documents. When viewing a document, iOS provides options to e-mail or print the document, export it to other apps or other devices. CerebraLock documents can be exported to a special folder and then imported by other identities. You can also e-mail them securely as vaults or send them as attachments through SMS or e-mail.

Note that exporting documents (unless they are vaults) removes some or all of the encryption and makes your documents insecure!

Importing top

Files can be imported from other apps and converted to secured documents. You can also acquire data through the cameras, microphone, web browser or import from your photo, video and music libraries.

See Data Sources and Public Folders and File Import: Folders for more details.

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