The benefits of hardware encryption for secure usb drives. For encryption security on usb flash drives, hard drives and solid state drives, two types of encryption methods are available. Practical experience and the procon of making the transition to seds will be shared in this session. Usually with hardware encryption you need to use a library or something that has the controller that can handle the keys. Hardware encryption vs software encryption promotional.
Software encryption is software based, where the encryption of a drive is provided by external software to secure the data. Encryption software can also be complicated to configure for advanced use and, potentially, could be turned off by users. Lto ultrium generation 4 and 5 drives have optional indrive encryption capability. Quantums lto tape drives deliver fast, reliable data protection at an affordable price. Typically, hardware encryption affects less than onepercent of tape drive. Because of the potential vulnerabilities of software encryption, kanguru strictly uses 256bit aes hardware encryption for all kanguru defender secure usb flash drives, hard drives and solid state drives. Hardware encryption is considered to be safer than software encryption because the encryption process is kept separate from the rest of the machine. Hardware encryption must be established for each data path and is only available for data paths that direct data to tape libraries. An lto3 or later drive will not erase or overwrite data on a worm cartridge, but will read it. Performance degradation is a notable problem with this type of encryption. As shown in our original study, irrespective of the method of full disk encryption deployed software vs. You might not be aware that there are ssds and hdds that actually encrypt and decrypt all your data on the fly, meaning your data is always protected.
For example, a photosharing software program on your pc or phone works with you and your hardware to take a photo and then communicates with servers and other devices on the internet to show that photo on your friends devices. Tape encryption purchase considerations computer weekly. For each data protection operation, the software checks the drive to see if encryption is supported. Opal fees only applicable to hardware based full disk encryption value of enduser downtime associated with the initial encryption of the hard disk value of excess enduser time operating a full disk encrypted computer the next section shows each cost component, comparing software and hardware based fde cost considerations. If you enable bitlocker on windows, microsoft trusts your ssd and doesnt do anything. Nov 25, 2015 i also discovered that you can use 256bit instead of 128bit encryption on both the old method of encryption, and the new xtsaes encryption. You can take a look at, pay someone to take a look at it, if its commonly used and it should be. Linear tape file system ltfs is an open format for storing data on tape that makes lto5 and 6 tapes selfdescribing and filebased. Basically, aes 256 is available as software or hardware implementation. The main source of differences between software and hardware fde solutions concern it tech timelabor, enduser productivity and licensing fees. Therefore, it is essentially free from the possibility of contamination, malicious code infection, or vulnerability. What is the difference between hardware vs softwarebased. By using hardware encryption, you can also avoid unnecessary cpu cycles on either the agent server or the backup server and the drive can compress the data.
The advantages of hardware encryption are speed and improved cpu performance. Review compliance requirements for storeddata encryption understand the concept of selfencryption compare hardware versus software based encryption. Encryption capability means that they are functionally capable of performing hardware encryption, but this capability is not yet activated. Linear tape open lto is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s as an open standards alternative to the proprietary magnetic tape formats that were available at the time. Generally, this method uses a password to hash the data as it is sent to the drive. Hardware encryption is the process of safeguarding your data using a dedicated and separate processor. Tape drives, tape libraries, and backup software can request and exchange encryption keys using either proprietary protocols, or an. Software encryption utilizes server processor power, effectively reducing server performance. Hardware encryption can be aided by a hardware random number generator.
If the drive doesnt have hardware self encryption or youre using win7 or 8. Customers who need encryption but require the fastest backup speeds should plan to use the encryption capable tape hardware such as ts11xx and lto4lto5lto6lto7lto8 instead since it has very minimal performance degradation. The following three major elements comprise the tape drive encryption solution. How secure is hardware full disk encryption fde for ssds. Hewlett packard enterprise, ibm, and quantum control the lto consortium, which directs development and manages licensing and certification of media and mechanism manufacturers. Oct 12, 2009 upgrading from lto3 to lto4 tape for data backup and recovery upgrading from lto3 to lto4 to take advantage of lto4 improvements in speed and capacity is a good idea for many organizations. Software interacts with you, the hardware youre using, and with hardware that exists elsewhere. Software encryption is much better because you as the user control which software is used. Iperius backup tape backup software for ltodat tape drives. May 23, 2010 the strength of the encryption is more dependent upon the algorithm used and the implementation of that algorithm more than it is based on hardware or software performing the encryption. Where drives have encryption enabled, interchange of encrypted data is made possible by the standard nature of the format specification, regardless of manufacturer.
Hardware encryption is also cost effective as it does not require expensive third party hardware. How to activate bitlocker with hardware encryption on ssd. For example, the aes encryption algorithm a modern cipher can be implemented using the aes instruction set on the ubiquitous x86 architecture. Download the free trial buy now at only 149 compatible with all tape drives dat, dlt, ait, lto, etc. Use next and previous buttons to browse through all search results. Ive got a single drive that supports edrive hardware encryption with bitlockercrucials m500. It includes a command you can use to check whether. Drives such as hps storageworks lto 4 ultrium 1840 and suns t0 tape drives implement hardware compression before encryption. A hardware random number generator relies on a measured value of a physical process that is inherently random. This edition of the best practice piece covers the differences between hardware based and software based encryption used to secure a. Linear tapeopen technology lto is a tapebased data storage solution designed in an open format technology that allows manufacturing by any vendor that wishes to license the technology. Software encryption means the backup software encrypts the data before it writes to the tape. Lto generation 4 and higher includes the ability for data to be encrypted by the tape drive hardware. Software cryptographic modules 2 hardware based solutions have the privilege of not being modifiable at any point, including during the powerup stages.
Hardware encryption means the encryption is done by the drive. For instructions, see working with a barcode encryption policy. Aes256gcm provides both data confidentiality and data integrity in a single, easytouse solution. This key is used to encrypt the data as it is written to tape. Our recommendation is normally to go with kms hardware encryption instead. Yes readwrite compatible with lto4 worm and lto3 worm. Quantums lto cartridges provide easily transportable backup storage for dr protection, and their aes 256bit encryption makes sure that no one else. For most people software encryption should be good enough. Hardware encryption is safer than software encryption because the encryption process is separate from the rest of the machine. But if consistent high throughput, low latency and security are key issues, then dedicated, optimised hardware based encryption is superior to software based encryption. The lto 4 standard provides for aes256 encryption performed directly at the hardware level on the tape drive itself. Hardware encryption provides considerably faster performance than software encryption. Software vs hardware encryption, whats better and why.
I think the op is talking about having a system that meets the specs for microsofts edrive standard, which accelerates encryption quite a bit with supported hardware. This processor takes care of authenticating access attempts, granting access, and encryptingdecrypting data while some hardware encryption processes still use passwords, it can also use biometrics such as fingerprints in place of a traditional password. Pros and cons of backup tape encryption searchdatabackup. Obviously, this depends on the individual application. This edition of the best practice piece covers the differences between hardwarebased and softwarebased encryption used to secure a usb drive. The hp storeever ultrium 6650 lto 6 external tape drive represents sixgenerations of lto technology capable of storing up to 6. Here,the software sends data unencrypted to the tape drive. The lto program created a competitive environment with multiple vendors. When using hardware encryption, the encryption engine in lto4, lto5 or lto6 drives is used to encrypt the data using a key provided by the tape backup software or another external source. Linear tapeopen lto is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s as an open standards alternative to the proprietary magnetic tape formats that were available at the time. Selfencrypting drives are hardly any better than software. Hardware encryption is also cost effective as it does not require expensive thirdparty hardware. How to use aes hardware encryption of lto tape drives on linux.
The use of a dedicated processor also relieves the burden on the rest of your device, making the encryption decryption process much faster. Each vendor has its own way of doing things, but generally speaking, the encryption process works by transmitting a symmetric key to the tape drive at the beginning of the backup operation. In comparison, lto 9 is projected to have 708 mbsec and lto 10 is proposed to have 1,100 mbsec, nearly 3x the speed and thus a 3x advantage in terms of reducing archival windows. I expect the lto aes encryption to be faster than software solutions. A barcode encryption policy identifies to a 3592 e05, ultrium 4, or newer tape drive which range of scratch cartridges will be encrypted. How to activate bitlocker with hardware encryption on ssd on partitioned drive i want to have my ssd drive fulldisk encrypted using the ssd hardware encryption through bitlocker. Tape encryption with hp data protector and storageworks. Disk encryption uses disk encryption software or hardware to encrypt every bit of data that goes on a disk or disk volume. Selfencrypting drives are hardly any better than software based encryption if a laptop using a selfencrypted drive is stolen or lost while in sleep mode, the security of its data cant be guaranteed. Hardware based encryption is the use of computer hardware to assist software, or sometimes replace software, in the process of data encryption. The use of a dedicated processor also relieves the burden on the rest of your device, making the encryption and decryption process much faster. The bitlocker ui in control panel does not tell you whether hardware encryption is used, but the command line tool managebde.
The ultrium lto4 backup tape drive can read the lto2 format tapes and on other hand, reads and writes lto3 format tapes. Tapebased encryption uses hardware on the drive itself. Consider software support for tapebased encryption. Encryption using software is slower than encryption using hardware and can result in a larger backup window. Lto technology and ltfs are ideal for big data and rich media video files, images, seismic information, medical records, construction drawings, digital video surveillance and more, said loredo. The open nature of lto technology enables compatibility between different vendors offerings and multiple sources of product and media. People often ask me, when it comes to storage or dataatrest encryption, whats better, file system encryption fse which is done in software by the storage controller, or full disk encryption fde which is done in hardware via specialized self encrypting drives seds. Disk encryption is a technology which protects information by converting it into unreadable code that cannot be deciphered easily by unauthorized people.
Upgrading from lto3 to lto4 tape for data backup and recovery. The encryption enabled tape drive the ts1 model e06 tape drives and the lto 4 and later drives are encryption capable. The encryption keys encrypt information that is being written to tape media tape and cartridge formats, and decrypt information that is being read from tape media. Several tape drives like lto4 or higher support encryption of data on the tape drive. Software full drive encryption page 2 fde performance comparison. A quick benchmark of aespipe on i7 cpu gives an impression on the effect of software aes. Lto encryption basics lto drivebased encryption was announced by the lto consortium in 2007. Hardwarebased encryption uses a devices onboard security to perform encryption and decryption. Aug 21, 2017 hardware encryption is considered to be safer than software encryption because the encryption process is kept separate from the rest of the machine. Librarymanaged lto hardware encryption on dell powervault tape. Encryption capability means that they are functionally capable of performing hardware encryption, but this.
Reverse engineering software implementations are more easily readable by adversaries and are therefore more susceptible to reverse. One big advantage of software raid is that it can be hardware agnostic when it comes to migrating drives and arrays. Hewlett packard enterprise, ibm, and quantum control the lto consortium, which directs development and manages licensing and. Software encryption also reduces backup performance and media capacity, because software encrypted data cannot be fully compressed by the tape drive. When choosing data security protocols, should you go for hardware or software encryption. Data hardware encryption using aes 256bit provides easytoenable security to protect the most sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access of tape cartridges. Furthermore, the lto ultrium format supports aes256 hardware based encryption, which means data can archived and secured on the fly without the need for. Hardware vs softwarebased encryption the kingston best practice series is designed to help users of kingston products achieve the best possible user experience. Lto versions from lto 4 to lto 6 support 256bit aes encryption at the hardware level. All ts1120 model e05 tape drives with feature code 5592 or 9592 are encryption capable. Hardware encryption is typically much less complex than similar software encryption. Software encryption in nbu does not need additional license it is included in nbu standard client license.
The hardware encryption option is enabled on the storage policy copy as. If the lto encryption is enabled, the data is encrypted before the backup starts. Hardware encryption is efficient due to the encryption function being offloaded to the drive from the. Typically, this is implemented as part of the processors instruction set. If a server fails, one can move drives to a new system with new hbas and access data in most cases assuming that the vendor allows migration and the new systems controllers are compatible. If the lto encryption is enabled, you will see all related messages displayed.
Robbie explains why theyll probably hurt you more than help you. Nov 27, 2018 hardware encryption provides considerably faster performance than software encryption. You cant trust bitlocker to encrypt your ssd on windows 10. Jun 23, 2015 encryption software can also be complicated to configure for advanced use and, potentially, could be turned off by users. Note that the tape header is never encrypted, while the data itself is encrypted before it is written to the lto tape. Software encryption is one thing, but what about these external hard drives that offer builtin encryption chips. Brm4403 encryption has been disabled for backup item. Backup of open or locked files volume shadow copy supports hardware compression and aes 256 bit encryption. Hardware aes 256 can perform 10gbps without significant latency. Ibm lto ultrium generation 5 media is designed to deliver exceptional capacity and reliability at a lower cost per gb than other types of storage medium. This removes the processing overhead normally associated with software based encryption, and allows backup jobs to proceed at a normal speed.
Hardware encryption is efficient due to the encryption function being offloaded to the drive from the cpu with little or no performance impact. Either forego tape encryption until their backup software products are updated. The advantage of hardware encryption is high speed, the advantage of software encryption is low cost. Commvault software currently supports only lto 4 encryption capable tape drives. Ltfssupported offerings are now available from a variety of vendors in software and hardware products as well as small to large tape automation. It is authenticated encryption that achieves very high speeds in hardware with low cost and low latency. Hardware based encryption uses a devices onboard security to perform encryption and decryption. Whole disk encryption is required for my new computer. Refurbished ultrium 6650 hp sas lto 6 external tape drive. If the drive does not feature data compression the data is backed up uncompressed. Mar 17, 2009 hardware vs software encryption comparison 1. Lto drives use the 256bit advanced encryption standard with galoiscounter mod of operation or aes256gcm for short. Linear tapeopen lto is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in. A key manager is a software program that assists ibm encryptionenabled tape drives in generating, protecting, storing, and maintaining encryption keys.
Lto encryption basics lto drivebased encryption was announced by the lto consortium in january 2007. For example if you buy a dell lto tape library theres an option to add an encryption management app which iswas some horrid java app that handles keys. It also includes drive imaging and backup to nas, rdx, ftp. Lto 5 introduces key wrapping to the encryption, changing every 200 records or so this seems over the top and potentially even bad for data robustness a wellplaced bitflip could lose you hundreds of mb lto 5 introduces ltfspartitonsetc which are irrelevant here. It is selfcontained and does not require the help of any additional software.
The lto 4 format has the capability to encryptdecrypt data within the tape drive hardware. Microsoft has issued a security advisory about this problem. What happens to jobs if hardware encryption is selected but the drive does not support it. Some ssds advertise support for hardware encryption. Refurbished ultrium 6650 hp sas lto 6 external tape drive eh964a repair available.
The lto 4 ultrium backup tape does not require the software based encryption and its inherent performance overheads. Kangurus hardware encrypted drives contain an alwayson builtin random number generator that independently handles all of the security for the drive. Data compression appliancesoftware encrypted data cannot be. But researchers have found that many ssds are doing a terrible job, which means bitlocker isnt providing secure encryption update. These tape drives provide the necessary controls to the backup applications to get the encryption capabilities as well as set the encryption properties on the drive. Security implications of hardware vs software cryptographi. Sep sesam provides native support for managing the lto hardware based encryption by enabling the lto encryption of tape drives on a media pool level. Hewlett packard enterprise, ibm, and quantum control the lto consortium, which directs development. Iperius backup tape tape backup software for windows server.
Hardware implementation allows for increased security and performance compared to software. Software fde according to recent studies, as many as 10% of laptop computers are lost or stolen each year, and most of them contain sensitive, confidential data 1. I have enabled encryption on the ssd, but windows does not use the hardware encryption. The lto 4 ultrium tape drive allows data to be encrypted following compression maintaining optimum storage efficiency.