Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) Management Software for SSD and HDD (2024)

Manage all your Self-Encrypting drives
seamlessly with SecureDoc Enterprise Server (SES)

What Is an SED?

The abbreviation “SED” stands for “self-encrypting drive.” An SED is a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) with an encryption circuit built into the drive. It transparently encrypts all data written to the media and, when unlocked, transparently decrypts all data read from the media.

In an SED, the encryption keys themselves never leave the confines of the SED hardware and therefore are safe from OS level attacks.

Why is Software-based Encryption Key Management needed to manage SEDs?

Encryption of any form doesn’t provide confidentiality without authentication and management of it. That is why its important to have a solution in place that can provide more robust authentication of devices and ensure that your data is safe from harm.

WinMagic delivers a secure, seamless authentication and encryption experience that increases your productivity. SecuroDoc Enterprise Server (SES) allows organizations control over their data security environment, ensuring maximum protection and transparency in the regular work flow.

How Does an SED Work?

An SED works by utilizing a unique and random data encryption key (DEK). A DEK is a data encryption key that transforms data to and from an unbreakable code. An encryption engine creates DEKs.

Whenever you write data to the drive (e.g. create a file and save it to the hard drive), it gets encrypted with the DEK. And whenever you read data from the drive (e.g. access a file stored on the SED), it’s decrypted with the same DEK. An SED is manufactured to be that way – it starts encrypting the moment it comes off of the assembly line.

As a result, the data on an SED is encrypted at all times. All of the encryption and decryption takes place within the drive, not within the computer’s memory or processor. If someone hacks the computer, the criminal doesn’t have access to the DEK

Why is Software-based Encryption Key Management needed to manage SEDs?

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a self-encrypting drive (SED), but haven’t yet made the decision, SEDs offer a number of benefits that you should consider.

1. SEDs have a negligible impact on performance speed – you most likely won’t even notice it. The encryption software is completely integrated, so there’s no need for other system components to step in and perform any heavy lifting.
2. SEDs are one of the strongest security tools money can buy. They’re independent of the operating system, so even if a hacker attacks a computer, it is nearly impossible to access the SED (and the encryption keys stored therein) when the computer is turned off.
3. Using an SED is simple… once paired with a 3rd party Encryption Key Management software. The software optimizes the SED’s decryption and encryption functions, and the key management, so you don’t need to worry about anything.
4. SEDs are inexpensive to deploy and maintain. SEDs encrypt the moment they come off the assembly line. Management software does the rest, ensuring that SEDs do their job without the need for human intervention. That saves time and money.

Enhanced Functionality

SecureDoc adds the much-needed authentication and enterprise manageability to SED’s. These unique features include:

Rapid Deployment

When installing SecureDoc, the software will automatically recognize a supported SED and can then make use of the hardware encryption.