In the digital era, data encryption is used by businesses, individuals and governments to securely do business and communicate. Encryption requires a computer with adequate software and capacity. Encrypting the data from a music CD is no different than encrypting any other type of digital data.
Instructions
Import CD Data to Computer
1. Insert the unencrypted music CD into the computer's CD/DVD drive.
2. Open the CD volume in a data-encoding software application. In Windows, the CD drive might be labeled "d:\". In iTunes, once the software recognizes it as an audio CD, choose the volume by clicking its name, located in the left column under "Devices."
3. Import the desired audio tracks to your hard drive. In iTunes, by default, inserting a music CD causes the software to automatically ask for permission to import the entire CD to your music library. Importing can be started or stopped at any time with the controls.
Make an Empty Virtual Disk with Encryption
4. Create a new virtual disk image in a file encryption software application like TrueCrypt or Mac OS X's Disk Utility. In TrueCrypt, choose "Create Volume" to start the Wizard. Follow the steps, choosing "Create an encrypted file container," then "Standard TrueCrypt volume." In Mac OS X's Disk Utility, make sure no volume is selected in the left column, then click the button at the top, labeled "New Image."
5. Choose a location to save the encrypted virtual disk image. In TrueCrypt, choose the "Select File" button in the "Volume Location" step of the Wizard and use a unique file name. If an existing file name is used, the existing file will be overwritten. In Mac OS X Disk Utility, choose a file name and location at the top of the dialog box and the name of the new virtual disk in the name field below.
6. Set the encryption options and volume format. Most users find the default options sufficient. In TrueCrypt, the "volume format" option is on the last step of the wizard, but its defaults should be sufficient as well. In Mac OS X Disk Utility, choose either the faster 128-bit or more secure 256-bit options from the drop-down box labeled "Encryption" to activate it.
7. Check that the virtual disk volume size is at least 610 MB, so an entire music CD can fit in it. The maximum size of a typical audio CD is 72 minutes, or 610MB of uncompressed audio.
8. Create a password for the encrypted CD. Memorize it and keep a copy somewhere safe. If this password is lost, the data will be difficult to recover, even for a computer security professional. Once this step is complete, the disk image will be created in its specified location.
Copy the Imported Data to the Encrypted Disk Image
9. Mount the encrypted disk image and type in the password. In TrueCrypt, select a drive letter from the list and click "Select File" to browse for the virtual volume created previously. Click "Open" in the dialog and then "Mount." For Disk Utility users, the disk image is mounted automatically once it's created. Either way, close TrueCrypt or Disk Utility.
10. Browse to the mounted virtual disk by opening My Computer in Windows and clicking on the corresponding drive letter, or by clicking on the volume name in the left column of the Mac Finder. The mounted disk image behaves exactly like an external hard drive.
11. Select all data from the imported music CD, using "Ctrl" and "A" in Windows Explorer or "Command" and "A" in Mac Finder, and either dragging and dropping it or using copy and paste. If using iTunes, locate the music data by right-clicking or command-clicking the imported album and choosing "Show in Windows Explorer" or "Show in Finder." All data stored on the virtual disk image will be encrypted and will need a password to be mounted.
12. Dismount or unmount the virtual disk image. It can now be burned onto a CD-ROM or stored digitally, but it no longer functions as an audio CD.
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