In a recent survey conducted by Securosis asked IT Professionals what the 10 most effective and the 10 least effective security technologies were. Read Write Enterprise posted the lists here. It’s important to note that the questions are perception based, not based on actual experience.
What is interesting is that Full Drive Encryption, aka Full Disk Encryption (FDE) or Self-Encrypting Drives (SED), is listed at the 4th most effective and the 10th least effective. Huh?
Considering the survey questions were perception based, perception must be based on either personal experience or simply awareness and knowledge of technology. There seems to be a gap between the believers and non-believers. In the US alone, only 1 out of every 100 laptops sold since 2006 have self encrypting drive technology. So, unless the respondents were one of the 1% of users with the technology, perception based on awareness and knowledge of the technology’s robustness is all we have to go on.
Self-encrypting drive technology is a relatively new technology. First introduced in 2006, Seagate is one of the drive manufacturers leading the way to create a higher positive perception through awareness and knowledge with recent announcements regarding FIPS 140-2 certification on the Momentus laptop drives featuring SED. I am certain there is more to come on this front with respect to additional products being FIPS certified.
I, for one, am a true believer, but then again, I work for Seagate. Beyond government certifications, data sheets, whitepapers, case studies, blog posts, etc., what will help drive your perception of the technology?
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