Data Encryption for Storage Devices

From Computing and Software Wiki

Data Encryption for Storage Devices is a special case of data at rest^[1] protection. Data can be encrypted through the use of software, or hardware itself can encrypt data as it is saved to the device.

Contents 1 Data Encryption 2 Implementations 2.1 Hardware Implementation 2.1.1 Advantages 2.1.2 Disadvantages 2.2 Software Implementation 2.2.1 Advantages 2.2.2 Disadvantages 3 See Also 4 References 5 External Links

Data Encryption

Encryption is used in cryptography to transform plaintext to ciphertext^[2]. In the case of storage devices, encrypted data that is stored can only be accessed with the proper authentication. Physical theft of the medium negates password protection since the data can simply be read from it. On the other hand, if the data was encrypted before being written, the data is still protected unless the key is known. With the theft of personal data becoming an issue^[3], the encryption of storage devices becomes an attractive way to avoid such issues.

Implementations

Data can be encrypted through encryption technology built into the storage medium, or different software that encrypts data before writing it.

Hardware Implementation

Hardware implementations include hard disk drives, portable storage drives, and USB flash drives. Encrypted hard disks have been available since April 2008^[4] but an actual standard was agreed upon and established in January 2009^[5]. The location of technology that encrypts the data depends on the type of storage medium. For an internal storage drive or USB drive, the technology is built into the device. In the case of portable storage drives, the technology may be built into the drive or into the housing for the drive.

Advantages

• Removes the requirement of having the CPU perform the calculations for the encryption process by performing the encryption itself.

Disadvantages

• The cost of these storage devices is significantly higher than storage devices that do not perform encryption.
• Proper benchmarking has not been performed yet^[6].

Software Implementation

Software encryption is offered natively in MAC OSX and Windows Vista^[7].

Advantages

Obviously.

Disadvantages

Obviously.

See Also

• Conventional Encryption Algorithms
• Security and Storage Mediums
• Cryptography in Information Security

References

[1] Data at rest definition

[2] Wikipedia:Encryption

[3] TSA Hard Drive Missing

[4] Fujitsu Ups Ante on Integral Hard Disk Encryption

[5] Coming soon: Full-disk encryption for all computer drives

[6] Encrypted Drives Keep Your Files Safe

[7] Protect Your Data With Whole-Disk Encryption

External Links

• IEEE Security in Storage Working Group
• Disk Encryption HowTo (Linux)
• Official FreeOTFE Website
• Official TrueCrypt Website
• Wikipedia:Encryption

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Shellya 18:16, 10 April 2009 (EDT)