Encrypting an External/USB Drive

Cal Poly ITS Information Security recommends OneDrive or SharePoint to store your files instead of external/USB drives.
OneDrive and SharePoint are backed up regularly and provide a lower risk to be compromised.

When you connect a non-encrypted External/USB storage device to your computer, a BitLocker Drive Encrytion pop-up dialog appears.

Choose → Encrypt this drive using BitLocker Drive Encryption
Enter and Re-enter a password you will use to unlock the drive, then click Next
Choose → Print the recovery key> Print/Save to PDF, then click Next.
Click on this image to enlarge the screens/see the highlighting more clearly.
Open the saved .pdf document to verify your Bitlocker Drive Encryption recovery key information is generated correctly. Here is a sample of what that information should look like…
Choose Encrypt entire drive, then click Next.
Click Start encrypting.
BitLocker displays a progress bar while you wait for the encrypting to be completed.
Once completed you will see a small lock shape on the USB Drive icon. Your Externel/USB drive is now encrypted and ready to store files more securely.

Encryption requirements for external disks are treated differently based on the device platform…

Windows requires all disks to be encrypted to have data written to them which can cause issues for some staff.

If you connect an external or USB drive to a Cal Poly Windows device:

MacOS does not encrypt external disks by default and will only enforce internal disk protection.

Some exceptions may be allowed for external disks. Submit an exception request.
Once an external device is encrypted, it is recommended to save your secure passphrase to LastPass for future retrieval.
The official recommendation for file sharing on campus is via Microsoft OneDrive

Cal Poly ITS Knowledge Base