The technology uses 128 bit AES encryption by default, but this can be configured to 256 bits for a heightened level of security.Īs BitLocker utilizes high levels of AES encryption, BitCracker relies on high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to make a dictionary attack viable. BitLocker is compatible with Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) and encrypts data stored on disk to prevent unauthorized access in cases of device theft or software-based attacks.īitLocker To Go works in the same manner for external devices, such as USB drives.

Dictionary attackīitLocker is Microsoft’s implementation of full-disk encryption, first released as an upgrade to Windows Vista in 2007.

Researchers have outlined their progress in further developing BitCracker, a GPU-powered password-cracking tool built specifically to break BitLocker, the full disk encryption built into Microsoft Windows.Ī white paper (PDF) recently published by Elena Agostini, software engineer at Nvidia, and Massimo Bernaschi, director of technology at National Research Council of Italy (CNR), describes BitCracker as a solution designed to “attempt the decryption, by means of a dictionary attack, of memory units encrypted by BitLocker”.īitCracker was first released in December 2015 and has been continually developed since. Open source tool leverages graphics processing to decrypt BitLocker-protected units

Bitlocker passwords