"What makes the Fujitsu FDE solution special is that the product leverages a stronger 256-bit AES key, whereas competitive offerings only support a 128-bit key," said David James, Vice president, Advanced product engineering, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. "By combining our hardware-based encryption technology with the FinallySecure Enterprise software from SECUDE, we are able to deliver an incredibly secure, managed mobile-computing solution."
The use of encryption technology is growing rapidly, as notebooks continue to emerge as the primary PC for the home and office. Because they are frequently used as a repository for sensitive personal and business information, guarding against system theft and loss is of primary importance. The high cost of identity theft looms large for consumers, while corporations are at risk of data breaches that could result in legal action and significant expense.
“In an era of increased risks, data security requires strong partnerships,“ said Tristan Kromer, Vice President of Data Protection Division, SECUDE, “By working with storage providers like Fujitsu, we’re able to bring a new generation of data protection technology to our customers, reduce uncertainty, and lower cost. A stolen laptop can even be erased remotely, leaving data thieves with nothing but used hardware.”
Fujitsu builds the encryption function into the disk drive and FDE is enabled even before shipping the disk drive. However, key management remains a major issue, just as it is with any encryption scheme. FinallySecure Enterprise is an effective key management and recovery system which allows for robust administrator control over all aspects of data security.
The Fujitsu TCG-Opal FDE technology allows secure erase of confidential and proprietary information stored on the drive. By erasing the key used for encryption, all of the data is effectively lost, making it easy for users or administrators to redeploy or retire the HDD. If the HDD is used again, a new, unique encryption key is generated and new data will be written over the old, unreadable data.
The FinallySecure software provides total data-at-rest protection by combining hardware and software-based technologies, in accordance with the TCG Opal specification. FinallySecure offers migration from single user to enterprise and software to hardware, all with central management.
Fujitsu TCG-Opal FDE HDD
The 2.5-inch HDD is the first technology in the world to meet the Opal Security Subsystem Class (SSC) specification. This specification is published today by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Storage Work Group (SWG).
The Fujitsu FDE HDD will feature encryption functions and advanced security features built directly into the hardware of the HDD, providing the following significant benefits to users and corporations needing strong data protection:
• Hardware based security. There are no dependencies on operating system software for security of the encryption keys and access credentials, as is the case for software encryption alternatives.
• High performance encryption. FDE drives operate at the same speed as non-encryption HDDs with no impact to host CPU performance.
• Ease of use. Single sign-on and password synchronization makes the solution invisible to users.
• Minimum IT support. For IT administrators there are no alterations to the operating system so all system tools and applications process normally. As an additional benefit, FDE drives can be completely set up, operated and audited remotely.
Fujitsu is working closely with SECUDE to build sophisticated features into its FDE solution. The TCG-based Fujitsu HDD provides system administrators the capabilities of remote configuration, feature rich authentication, lost password recovery, multi-user support and separation of administrative and user roles. SECUDE has designed its FinallySecure Enterprise to be compatible with TCG Opal-compliant hard drives, giving IT managers the ability to implement security solutions based on an industry standard.