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Say you have a computer with the system drive encrypted by BitLocker and you're not using a PIN so the computer will boot up unattended. What happens if an attacker boots the system up into the Windows Preinstallation Environment? Will they have access to the encrypted drive?

Does it change if you have a TPM vs. using only a USB startup key?

What I'm trying to determine is whether the TPM / USB startup key is usable without booting from the original operating system. In other words, if you're using a USB startup key and the machine is rebooted normally then the data would still be protected unless an attacker was able to log in. But what if the hacker just boots the server into a Windows Preinstallation Environment with the USB startup key plugged in? Would they then have access to the data? Or would that require the recovery key?

Ideally the recovery key would be required when booted like this, but I haven't seen this documented anywhere.

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TPM is secure because it's "watches" the boot process; when your normal Windows installation boots, it follows the "normal" boot path and TPM recognizes this and will only store/retrieve keys when this process has been followed. If you boot any other way, even just safe mode, you'll "change" that process and TPM will not "unlock".

Technically the key is stored in the TPM chip, and it's theoretically possibly to slice open this chip and get to the data. TPM is a vault like any other, it's always theoretically possible to break into a vault given enough time and resources. To publicly available knowledge, this has never happened. But this half the reason the PIN and USB Key options exist. Trying to brute-force the actual AES-256 encryption key would take a ridiculous amount of time.

If your drive only requires the USB Key, then it would be possible to use only that even from WinPE to unlock the drive.

We use BitLocker where I work. Each drive has to protectors, the TPM key and a Recovery Key that is automatically published to Active Directory. The computer starts like normal and users don't know it's encrypted except if they look. When I take the computer in to be serviced/wiped/etc I use the manage-bde command line tool in WinPE to unlock and access the drive, using the Recovery Key to unlock the drive.

Also keep in mind that the GUI doesn't present all of the available BitLocker options. The command line tool manage-bde does. For most people the GUI is good enough to get started, but the CLI tool will be necessary for advanced setups and may present you with a better understanding of the technology.

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  • Based on your information, I played with this a bit and you're absolutely correct that when only using the USB key you can unlock the drive from the WinPE environment. It's NOT necessary to use the recovery key. I don't have a TPM so I can't verify the "watching the boot process" part, but I've heard that before so I assume you're correct on that. In the end, I suppose that's the whole point of TPM. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be a way to add TPM to an existing machine that doesn't already have it. Jun 12, 2012 at 21:15
  • Some machines can have TPM added, but it's a bit rare. I'd at least call the manufacturer to verify as the add-on modules are usually very reasonably priced.
    – Chris S
    Jun 12, 2012 at 23:50
  • I hoped that someone made a TPM module on a USB header that could be plugged onto a motherboard header, but I sure can't find one. It appears that TPM requires special BIOS support so it's either a feature of the motherboard or it isn't. Looking at newegg.com, it looks like TPM on the motherboard is a pretty rare option at this point. Perhaps that will change with Windows 8 and it's secure boot support? Jun 13, 2012 at 16:45
  • TPM does require BIOS support. Most DIY motherboards do no have it; those MBs aren't meant for corporate America so no point in including it. It's getting hard to find a desktop/laptop system from Dell, HP, or the others that doesn't include TPM however.
    – Chris S
    Jun 13, 2012 at 17:04
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  1. Bitlocker encrypts the data with a key , so no matter if another user boots up the environment he will not have access to the data directly . The downside is that he can try to crack the encryption because he has physical access to the hard disk (which can be partlly prevented with an usb start-up key .
  2. As far as I know the TPM / USB key is unusable when booted from another OS without the PIN\PASSWORD .
  3. Someone who would like access would go to the following route : a) get laptop b)get key c) get pin d)get access .
  4. They would still need the recovery key or the PIN , unless they would try to brute force directly without the key .

I hope this helps .

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  • I did some experimentation based on your and Chris' answers. The problem with using the USB key without TPM is that if it's present in the machine when you boot into the WinPE environment, it gives you access to the encrypted drives. So the USB startup key is sufficient access for the encrypted data regardless of knowing any account information. You DO NOT need the recovery key in this context. Jun 12, 2012 at 21:09
  • Uh I didn't know that it was possible , thanks for the info!
    – Alex H
    Jun 13, 2012 at 5:57

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