Fujitsu debuts self-encrypting hard drives

Fujitsu on Monday announced the "first ever" hard disk drive line-up using the hardware-based AES-256 bit encryption standard. The company's mobile HDDs are joined by the MHZ2 CJ-series laptop drives, consisting of full disk encryption, 2.5-inch, 7,200RPM SATA drives with capacities up to 320GB. Fujitsu claims not only improved data security, but also improved system performance for its newest offerings. The hard drives themselves encrypt and decrypt the password, leaving system performance minimally affected; the passwords are not accessible in system memory when powered off, the company claims.

Traditional, software-based security solutions leave the password in system memory, which hackers are able to retrieve. Also, traditional software-based encryption/decryption affects system performance by taxing the CPU and other resources.

Fujitsu says that the AES-256 encryption standard includes an advanced secure erase feature that allows companies or organizations to quickly make data inaccessible by changing the drive's encryption password.

As of publication, the company has not released details such as pricing and release dates.

Filed under: computers, security, upgrades/storage
Other story tags: hard drive, Fujitsu, encryption