How SSDs enhance your business’ data security

Data stored on business systems is an asset – and a liability. Like any asset, your data is worth guarding, and like any liability, it’s worth mitigating. Personal identification numbers, customer payment information, contact lists, product/service roadmaps, and intellectual property are examples of the confidential data that’s stored on almost every computer and server. This data is vulnerable in the event of accidental loss and is a high-value target for hackers and data thieves. The good news: These threats can be diminished.

Strengthen data security by replacing vulnerable hard drives with self-encrypting SSDs

The best way to protect data stored on servers, desktops, or laptops is to encrypt it at the hardware level on a device’s storage drive. It’s a critical data security step, but it’s often overlooked. Why? Because new systems often come with low-grade preinstalled hard drives which often lack encryption technology. If the hard drive does offer encryption, it’s typically software-based, which is one of the weakest forms of encryption. Software-based encryption also slows down system performance and still leaves data at risk of being compromised. Here’s why.

Hardware encryption vs. software encryption

Type of storage drive		Pre-installed hard drive		Crucial® MX-series SSD
Level of encryption		No encryption	Software-based encryption	Hardware-based encryption
What it means		Confidential data is left unguarded	The encryption process is slow and the system may still be vulnerable to rootkit attack	All files are securely encrypted with no loss in performance
Encryption features	Adds an additional layer of security to the system
	Encrypts without slowing down system performance
	Every file on the drive gets automatically encrypted
	Stronger than security protocols that rely on the operating system

Self-encrypting drives use an encryption engine built into the SSD’s controller to encrypt every file stored on the drive. Crucial MX-series SSDs include a state-of-the-art 256-bit AES encryption engine so performance doesn’t suffer. And because the technology in SSDs is inherently faster than hard drives, your business can work faster and improve productivity while simultaneously strengthening data security.

How SSDs improve data security and accelerate performance in many industries

The bottom line

Enhancing data security requires taking extra precautions, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. What’s really expensive is losing data that your business has a legal obligation to protect. Crucial MX-series SSDs utilize top-level, government-grade AES 256-bit hardware encryption that meets or exceeds all industry encryption standards, including Microsoft^® eDrive, IEEE-1667, and TCG Opal 2.0. Safeguard your data by swapping out vulnerable preinstalled hard drives, and start encrypting your data at the highest level and improving system speed and performance. Your data is an asset and a liability. Guard it. And get the most out of it.