Security for data-at-rest

Paul Boughton

Microsemi Corporation has announced an ANSI/VITA 42.3-2014-compliant PCI Express interface XMC form factor serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) solid state drive (SSD) for industrial and defence applications where ultimate security for data-at-rest is required.

As part of Microsemi’s TRRUST- Stor best-in-class self-encrypting drive (SED) technology offerings, the XMC offers powerful key management methods. In the most advanced method, no encryption key is stored in the SSD, leaving data forensically unrecoverable.

Typical embedded systems utilising secure SSDs require a bolt on external chassis for the drives, adding weight and size to the device. Microsemi solves the problem by offering an XMC form factor that plugs directly into the host card and eliminates the need for an external enclosure. In addition, the advanced TRRUST-Stor family of secure SSDs includes advanced security features such as hardware-based AES256 encryption and advanced key management systems.

The XMC SSD has a layered security protocol allowing a hardware or software command to erase the encryption key in less than 30 milliseconds (ms) and erase full flash storage media in less than 10 seconds with no trace of recoverable data.