New Seagate hard drive with built-in encryption
updated 04:35 pm EST, Mon October 30, 2006
Seagate encrypted h. drive
A new Seagate hard drive is being manufactured with built-in encryption, the company says. The Momentus 5400 FDE.2 is designed for laptops and has a "DriveTrust" chip that controls all data sent or received. To run a laptop equipped with an FDE.2, users must first enter a password set when the laptop arrives. Seagate believes that future laptops may come with more elaborate security measures such as fingerprint readers or smart cards. Indeed, the drive seems to be targeted mainly at governments and corporations, who in some cases have had highly publicized data thefts. Although pricing for the product is undetermined, Seagate expects the initial rollout to happen early next year. DriveTrust chips will also be used for DRM control in DB35 drives, meant for entertainment products such as DVRs.
