Seagate today announced it is first to achieve the government’s FIPS security certification for its full family of enterprise Self-Encryping Drives (SED). This is big news for Seagate, and it’s great that the company can now service government accounts with FIPS 140-2 certified encrypted storage. Seagate’s full breadth of Cheetah, Constellation, and Savvio SED families are now FIPS certified.
So what’s the big deal about FIPS? FIPS 140-2 validation is an unparalleled mark of security and quality. It certifies to all buyers that the Seagate FIPS SED drives meet the U.S., Canadian, and United Kingdom FIPS 140-2, Level 2 requirements for cryptographic security products – the best-in-class and de-facto worldwide standard for cryptographic modules. For additional FIPS info, check out this post from Mark Wojtasiak at the Storage Effect.
The bottom line is it gives government and related commercial organizations peace of mind. Using FIPS certified storage means that it meets federal data security compliance requirements, it protects national security, and agency/company reputation. For those looking to deploy secure solutions, it shows due diligence was made by demonstrating adherence to best-in-class security methodology.
But this isn’t just great news for government. FIPS-certified products can benefit non-Government-based OEMs and system builders too. When it comes to the storage market place, differentiation is often what separates the leaders from the followers. And what better way to show differentiation and a competitive advantage than by use of FIPS-certified solutions? In addition, new target markets with new revenue opportunities can be had which all adds up to a nice opportunity to raise one’s brand equity.
[...] more details on this announcement, check out David Szabados blog on Inside IT [...]