Encrypted Hard Drives

Encrypted hard drives have come a long way since the first attempts at protecting data from prying eyes. Encrypted hard disk are primarily designed to protect the data that is on the disk drive. The main problem is that most systems have some flaws. For example, if you house the hard drive in an enclosure, and restrict access to the data via a chip, then it is a simple matter to remove the hard drive from the disk enclosure, and put the disk drive in another case. You simply read the data. Of course, that is a very basic way of securing your data. Systems now use far more secure methods. Firstly, the data on the disk must be encrypted on the fly. This is normally done via an encryption chip, or via software. Of course, a chip system will be far faster and more secure than software encryption, because the encryption process is handled by a separate chip, rather than the CPU handling the disk encryption.

Full disk encryption systems are now common, and should be used wherever possible. An minumun encryption level of 256-bit AES encryption will at least mean that anyone without access to your pin or password can't easily access your stuff. Ideally, the disk encryption should be self contained. You should not need to install and encryption software on the host computer. And locking / unlocking your disk should be easy.
So have a look at those factors before buying any encrypted hard disks.

Any data that is moved around can so easily fall into the wrong hands. You just have to look at the headlines! So, If you are looking for secure disk systems, please feel free to contact us for help and advice.