Study examining the usage of hardware-based encrypting drives

The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) and Ponemon Institute released a full report on the perceptions about self-encrypting drives.

The study interviewed 517 IT practitioners in financial services, the public sector, retailing, healthcare, technology and other fields who were familiar with self-encrypting drives (SEDs).

Respondents believed that hardware-based encryption, including self-encrypting drives, is more secure than software alternatives. Fifty-three percent of respondents noted that lower costs were important features for self-encrypting drives. The survey also revealed that 41 percent currently use a combination of hardware and software encryption. Those using hardware encryption believed it did not impact user productivity, nor was it more difficult to implement.