Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[Fullmoon]

Trusted Computing Group’s Storage Work Group releases latest storage specifications

http://www.wwpi.com/ctn-headlines/6595-trusted-computing-groups-storage-work-group-releases-latest-storage-specifications

Tuesday, 27 January 2009 11:39 Editor
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) released final versions of three storage specifications that will enable stronger data protection, help organizations comply with increasingly tough regulations and help protect important information from loss and theft.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse estimates that in the United States alone 251,154,519 records have been lost or stolen since January 2005*. Some 12.000 notebook PCs are lost or stolen in airports in the United States, with only 33 percent recovered by owners.**

Said Robert Thibadeau, chair, Trusted Computing Group Storage Work Group, "Lost and stolen data costs industry and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars, not to mention loss of credibility, legal issues and lost productivity. TCG's approach to Trusted Storage gives vendors and users a transparent way to fully encrypt data in hardware without affecting performance so that data is safe no matter what happens to the drive."

TCG's Storage Work Group has been working on specifications to add security to PC and data center storage devices. These final specs, known as the OPAL Security Subsystem Class Specification for PC clients and the Enterprise Security Subsystem Class Specification for data center class storage, now are available with an additional specification, the Storage Interface Interactions Specification, that focuses on interactions between these storage devices and underlying SCSI/ATA protocols.

Both storage device specifications give vendors a blueprint for developing self-encrypting storage devices (e.g., hard drives) that lock data, can be immediately and completely erased and can be optionally combined with the Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, on most commercial PCs for safekeeping of security credentials.

Companies supporting this announcement include software vendors CryptoMill, ULINK Technology, Wave Systems and WinMagic and HDD vendors Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seagate Technology and Western Digital.