BIOS: Technology Means Business

In an apparent major step forward to simplifying the security and management of private data stored on any computing device, Seagate is introducing a powerful new security platform that delivers a simple, cost-effective way to deploy the highest levels of security for computing systems, computer electronics and mobile devices by protecting data where it lives - on the hard disk drive.

The platform, Seagate DriveTrust Technology, combines strong, fully automated hardware-based security with a programming foundation that makes it easy to add security-based software applications for organisation-wide encryption key management, multi-factor user authentication and other capabilities that help lock down digital information at rest.

DriveTrust Technology works by encasing the security operations in the hard drive, making the technology as easy and cost-effective to deploy as the drive itself.

Seagate’s security ‘breakthrough’ comes as more high-value information such as financial data, digital multi-media content and personal data is stored on hard drives. Stolen data can cost organisations and consumers dearly. Plundered trade secrets and intellectual property can mean millions of dollars in lost business. Pilfered personal information such as address books, account information and social security numbers threaten consumers with the high cost of identity theft.

Family photos, video and music downloads, often numbering in the hundreds if not thousands, stored on computers, carry their own inestimable value. The proliferation of this precious data on mobile devices increases the potential risks.

For many organisations, compliance with data security and privacy legislation such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has become a priority, making the security of critical digital content - including the secure disposal of electronic files to end the data lifecycle - a fundamental requirement. At the same time, content providers need stronger forms of security to protect their digital assets and enable new business models.

“Securing data on the hard drive is an innovative, yet commonsense approach that will simplify the deployment and the adoption of security for data at rest,” said Charles Kolodgy, research director of security products for analyst group IDC. “As storage and security converge, solutions like Seagate’s DriveTrust Technology are leading the way by providing organisations with the strong, easy-to-use security they need to protect their data assets.”

DriveTrust Technology delivers new levels of simplicity, transparency and cost- effectiveness for securing digital information. The Seagate security platform automatically protects all drive data, not just selected partitions or files, at all times, and its security functions operate independently of the hard drive, preserving the hard drive’s full performance.

With DriveTrust Technology, secure hard drives are as easy to install and operate as standard drives. The security capabilities run transparently within the drive with no need for additional configuration. Set up can be as simple as creating a password for user authentication.

Drive-level security requires no patches, updates or upgrades, eliminating many of the costs associated with traditional software solutions. DriveTrust Technology hard drives free IT organisations from having to distribute software updates or manage software versions, ensuring consistent and reliable security for data at rest. Information stored on DriveTrust Technology drives can be instantly erased, making it easy to re-deploy and retire the drives and reducing the time and costs traditionally associated with overwriting and erasing disc data.

DriveTrust Technology gives independent software vendors (ISVs) a platform for building stronger security applications. The DriveTrust Technology software developer kit (SDK) includes the documentation and tools necessary to build DriveTrust Technology-enabled applications such as access controls needed to manage encryption keys, passwords and other forms of authentication for large deployments.

Seagate is committed to an open, standards-based architecture that will enable the implementation of DriveTrust Technology across all storage devices. Toward that end, an independent laboratory is certifying DriveTrust algorithms including encryption (AES and TripleDES), public key (RSA), and authentication (SHA-1).

Seagate is also driving toward the ubiquitous security of digital content through its leadership in the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), a standards body working to strengthen and simplify the deployment of computer security. Seagate is standardizing DriveTrust Technology's encryption, authentication tools and other security building blocks in a formal TCG storage specification that is scheduled for public release in early 2007. The TCG specification will enable manufacturers of hard drives and devices that use them to easily deploy security capabilities such as encryption and user authentication.

Seagate also plans to introduce the first hard drive with full disc encryption, Momentus 5400 FDE.2 for laptops. This 2.5-inch, 5400rpm drive with hardware-based full disc encryption allows users access with passwords for self-authentication, while third-party enhancements enable thumbprint and smart card options for multi-factor self-authentication.

All cryptographic operations and access control are performed by a separate chip within the drive. The Momentus is expected to be available somewhere in the first quarter of 2007, with 80GB, 120GB, and 180GB capacities. Presently, Seagate offers a hard disc drive series, DB35, featuring DriveTrust Technology, for digital video recorders (DVRs) and other digital entertainment devices.

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