Disk encryption hardware

Hardware encryption is a method in which a hardware component ( hardware encryption ) encrypted data without the use of additional software.

Hardware encryption is typically used for internal or external hard drives. The cryptographic hardware is installed in this case between the controller and the hard disk and encrypted in real time the exchanged signals. On the hard drive only the encrypted data is stored. Accessing the data requires a key that may be stored for example on a token.

Benefits

The computer power required for complex cryptographic operations is considerable. Through the use of dedicated hardware, the system load is reduced. It is also widely accessed by specialized hardware, a speed gain. This (especially in real time ) longer key lengths are possible.

In the PC environment, the hardware encryption provides significant security advantages because ultimately all running on the regular hardware operations can be monitored, which creates additional attack surfaces.

In Germany, for encryption of classified information with the classification level CONFIDENTIAL and higher is to provide a hardware encryption.

• Cryptologic method