HDD makers agree on full-disk encryption standard

Posted on Thursday, January 29 2009 @ 2:40 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
FUD Zilla writes the six largest HDD makers have published the final specifications for a single, full-disk encryption standard that can be used across all HDDs, SSDs and encryption key management applications.
According to a press release any disk that uses the specification will be locked without a password and and the password will be needed even before a computer boots. Three The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) specifications cover storage devices in consumer laptops and desktop computers as well as enterprise-class drives used in servers and disk storage arrays.

When a USB drive is unplugged, or when a laptop is powered down, or when an administrator pulls a drive from a server, it can't be brought back up and read without first giving a cryptographically-strong password. Without it the drive is a brick that could not even be formatted and flogged on ebay.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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