What term refers to a disk drive whose controller can automatically encrypt data as it is written to the disk?

What term refers to a disk drive whose controller can automatically encrypt data as it is written to the disk?

• A. Self-encrypting drives (SED)
• B. Opal
• C. Configuration baselines
• D. Trend analysis

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is hardware-based encryption at rest provided by the disk’s own controller. A self-encrypting drive delivers automatic, real-time encryption and decryption as data is written to or read from the disk, done entirely by the drive itself. This makes encryption invisible to the operating system and applications, so there’s no separate software step required for protecting data. Because the encryption keys are managed by the drive, access control can be enforced at the hardware level (for example, requiring authentication at boot). If the drive is removed or lost, the data remains protected as long as the key isn’t compromised. This is what distinguishes self-encrypting drives from other approaches like software encryption. Opal is a specific standard/specification used by some self-encrypting drives to implement features and access control, but the general term for a disk that encrypts data automatically by its controller is self-encrypting drive. The other terms refer to configuration baselines or analytics, not to hardware-based disk encryption.

The main idea here is hardware-based encryption at rest provided by the disk’s own controller. A self-encrypting drive delivers automatic, real-time encryption and decryption as data is written to or read from the disk, done entirely by the drive itself. This makes encryption invisible to the operating system and applications, so there’s no separate software step required for protecting data.

Because the encryption keys are managed by the drive, access control can be enforced at the hardware level (for example, requiring authentication at boot). If the drive is removed or lost, the data remains protected as long as the key isn’t compromised. This is what distinguishes self-encrypting drives from other approaches like software encryption.

Opal is a specific standard/specification used by some self-encrypting drives to implement features and access control, but the general term for a disk that encrypts data automatically by its controller is self-encrypting drive. The other terms refer to configuration baselines or analytics, not to hardware-based disk encryption.