Protecting Data On Your SSD Using SafeGuard Device Encryption

November 20, 2015 / General Discussion

At this point in the game, you should understand the importance of encryption for keeping your data safe and sound. One of the best ways to protect the data on your SSD drives is by utilizing SafeGuard Device Encryption. This specific technique is accessible for all operating systems and it’ll explored in greater depth below.

  1. Protecting Your Data with SafeGuard Device Encryption

    With SafeGuard, it is possible to encrypt entire disks and drives. With the software, you can opt to encrypt your computer on a sector-by-sector basis. Once the process has concluded, there will be no plain text sectors left and your computer completely protected.

    In order to properly protect your solid-state drive, you should utilize the information provided within this post. Remember that the data-managing mechanisms of solid-state drives are unique and may impact encryption so following the information provided is of the utmost importance.

  2. How To Protect Data On Your SSD

    Before writing any data to your SSD, it is imperative that you install SafeGuard Device Encryption. Once this have completed, you will want to start the encryption process.

    Remember that utilizing the instant decommissioning tool, which is provided with this software, may not be effective. This feature will overwrite your key storage area, but replicas of the data could still remain on the drive! If this is a problem, you should contemplate using a self-encrypting and decrypting SSD.

    If your SSD, which contains sensitive data, has ceased to be useful, you should consider destroying it, so nobody will be able to retrieve the data.

  3. Why Special Encryption Precautions Are Mandatory

    It is vital to remember that SSD drives flash-based. In this sense, they behave similarly to USB flash drives. By deleting data from your SSD, it may not actually removed completely and may remain, within the drive’s sectors.

    With this in mind, no external software will be able to gain comprehensive control over the SSD. The software has no ability to figure out precisely where the data is actually stored on the drive. It imperative to take action before the data is stored on the drive. It should encrypted before it enters the drive initially.

  4. Technical Information

    In order to fully grasp this process, you should familiarize yourself with the terms listed below.

    Sanitizing – This is a process, which will strip sensitive data from a file or document. When associated with the hard disk, the term means that you’re destroying the data, so it can never regain.

    Can Secure Erase Sanitize The Complete SSD? – Sadly, the answer is no. These commands aren’t always reliable and sometimes aren’t even available. With no verification procedure available, you will never be able to determine the effectiveness of the procedure.

    Can BEInvVol.exe Effectively Sanitize A SSD, which have SafeGuard-encrypted? – Unfortunately, this is not possible. KSA cannot sanitized, so this procedure will not work.

    Can ATA/SCSI TRIM Help In Any Way? – Again, no. This command will only instruct the SSD controller to delete a specific area. Nothing is guaranteed and the SSD’s garbage collector may or may not behave, as you desire.

    How Does The Garbage Collection Work? – The process is still a mystery. It appears that it will try to delete space when the disk is not in use. Unfortunately, the host will not be able to gain control over this procedure and this will lead to problems.