SED (Self Encrypting Drive)

A self-encrypting drive (SED) is a type of hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) that automatically encrypts and decrypts data without requiring user intervention or additional software. Here are the key features and benefits of SEDs:

Automatic Encryption: SEDs use hardware-based encryption to secure all data written to the drive. This process is seamless and does not require the user to take any action.

• Security: The encryption keys are stored within the drive, making it difficult for unauthorized users to access the data. The data remains encrypted and inaccessible if the drive is removed from the system.
• Performance: Since the drive’s hardware handles the encryption, there is minimal impact on system performance compared to software-based encryption solutions3.
• Ease of Use: SEDs are designed to be user-friendly, with encryption and decryption processes occurring transparently in the background.
• Data Protection: If a drive is lost or stolen, the data remains protected due to the encryption, reducing the risk of data breaches.
• Disposal: Issuing the erase command is issued, the MEK is erased, rendering the data unrecoverable
  

SEDs are widely used in environments where data security is critical, such as in corporate, government, and healthcare settings.

 Data at Rest

Data at rest is stored in a physical location, such as a computer's hard drive or a server, and is not actively used or moved between devices or networks. It can include both structured and unstructured data.

Examples of data at rest include Spreadsheet files on a laptop, Videos on a mobile device, Employment records in a company's HR system, and Sales information in a company's database.

Data at rest is often the most sensitive data in an organization and can be very valuable to hackers. Data breaches at rest can have serious consequences, including Large financial losses, Damage to a company's reputation, Regulatory fines, and Civil liability.

To protect data at rest, organizations can use techniques such as:

Encryption: Makes the data indecipherable and useless to anyone who steals it using FDE (Full Disk Encryption), SED (Self-Encrypting Drives), and BitLocker.

Data tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive tokens that are meaningless on their own

Layered password protection: Sets access controls to data at different levels of sensitivity