Seagate Unveils New Security Platform for Strong, Easy-to-Use Protection of Digital Information

Seagate DriveTrust Technology is a Breakthrough in Security and Management of Private Data on any Computing Device

ORLANDO, Fla.—30 October 2006— In a major step forward to simplifying the security and management of private data stored on any computing device, Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX - News) is introducing a powerful new security platform that delivers a simple, cost- effective way to deploy the highest levels of security for computing systems, computer electronics and mobile devices by protecting data where it lives - on the hard disc drive.

The platform, Seagate DriveTrust Technology, combines strong, fully automated hardware-based security with a programming foundation that makes it easy to add security-based software applications for organization-wide encryption key management, multi-factor user authentication and other capabilities that help lock down digital information at rest. DriveTrust Technology works by encasing the security operations in the hard drive, making the technology as easy and cost-effective to deploy as the drive itself.

The Rising Value -- and Vulnerability -- of Digital Content
Seagate’s security breakthrough comes as more high-value information such as financial data, digital multi-media content and personal data is stored on hard drives. Stolen data can cost organizations and consumers dearly. Plundered trade secrets and intellectual property can mean millions of dollars in lost business. Pilfered personal information such as address books, account information and social security numbers threaten consumers with the high cost of identity theft. Family photos, video and music downloads, often numbering in the hundreds if not thousands, stored on computers, carry their own inestimable value. The proliferation of this precious data on mobile devices increases the potential risks.

For many organizations, compliance with data security and privacy legislation such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has become a priority, making the security of critical digital content - including the secure disposal of electronic files to end the data lifecycle - a fundamental requirement. At the same time, content providers need stronger forms of security to protect their digital assets and enable new business models.

"Securing data on the hard drive is an innovative, yet commonsense approach that will simplify the deployment and the adoption of security for data at rest" said Charles Kolodgy, research director of security products for analyst group IDC. "As storage and security converge, solutions like Seagate’s DriveTrust Technology are leading the way by providing organizations with the strong, easy-to-use security they need to protect their data assets"

Seagate DriveTrust -- Simple, Strong Security for Data at Rest
DriveTrust Technology delivers new levels of simplicity, transparency and cost- effectiveness for securing digital information. The Seagate security platform automatically protects all drive data, not just selected partitions or files, at all times, and its security functions operate independently of the hard drive, preserving the hard drive’s full performance. DriveTrust Technology also offers these benefits:

- With DriveTrust Technology, secure hard drives are as easy to install and operate as standard drives. The security capabilities run transparently within the drive with no need for additional configuration. Set up can be as simple as creating a password for user authentication.

- Drive-level security requires no patches, updates or upgrades, eliminating many of the costs associated with traditional software solutions. DriveTrust Technology hard drives free IT organizations from having to distribute software updates or manage software versions, ensuring consistent and reliable security for data at rest.

- Information stored on DriveTrust Technology drives can be instantly erased, making it easy to re-deploy and retire the drives and reducing the time and costs traditionally associated with overwriting and erasing disc data.

- DriveTrust Technology gives independent software vendors (ISVs) a platform for building stronger security applications. The DriveTrust Technology software developer kit (SDK) includes the documentation and tools necessary to build DriveTrust Technology-enabled applications such as access controls needed to manage encryption keys, passwords and other forms of authentication for large deployments.

Seagate DriveTrust - Securing Digital Content Across All Storage Devices Seagate is committed to an open, standards-based architecture that will enable the implementation of DriveTrust Technology across all storage devices. Toward that end, an independent laboratory is certifying DriveTrust algorithms including encryption (AES and TripleDES), public key (RSA), and authentication (SHA-1).

Seagate is also driving toward the ubiquitous security of digital content through its leadership in the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), a standards body working to strengthen and simplify the deployment of computer security. Seagate is standardizing DriveTrust Technology’s encryption, authentication tools and other security building blocks in a formal TCG storage specification that is scheduled for public release in early 2007. The TCG specification will enable manufacturers of hard drives and devices that use them to easily deploy security capabilities such as encryption and user authentication.

Dr. Robert Thibadeau, Seagate chief technologist, chairs TCG’s Storage WorkGroup and serves on the TCG Board of Directors.

Seagate Delivers DriveTrust Technology with Momentus 5400 FDE.2 and DB35 Series
Seagate currently offers a hard disc drive family featuring DriveTrust Technology, the DB35 Series hard drives for digital video recorders (DVRs) and other digital entertainment devices. The DB35 Series hard drives are the first to enable manufacturers to lock a drive to the system, allowing service providers to deploy DVRs that protect recorded content from illicit copying and distribution if the 3.5-inch, 7200-RPM drive is removed.

In the first quarter of calendar 2007, Seagate plans to introduce Momentus 5400 FDE.2 for notebook computers, the first hard drive with full disc encryption. Momentus 5400 FDE.2 provides an easy, cost-effective way to prevent unauthorized access to all notebook PC data in case the system or disc drive is lost, stolen, retired or resold. The 2.5-inch, 5,400-RPM drive’s hardware-based full disc encryption delivers significantly stronger protection than traditional encryption approaches by securely performing all cryptographic operations and access control within the drive. For users, only a password is needed to self-authenticate for full drive access, while third- party enhancements enable thumbprint and smart card options for multi-factor self-authentication. In addition, no time-consuming disc initialization or configuration is required to deploy the drive.

Seagate at Storage Networking World
Seagate will highlight data security in these forums at Fall Storage Networking World 2006, October 31 through November 3 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Resort, Orlando Florida:

Storage Networking Industry Association Solutions Center
Seagate and software partners SECUDE IT Security and Wave Systems, leaders in delivering computer security solutions, will demonstrate state-of-the-art data security for notebook computers using Momentus 5400 FDE.2 in single-user and enterprise deployments.

Data Protection/Security Track Presentation - Dr. Robert Thibadeau, Seagate director of Research Architecture, will deliver a presentation titled "Drive-Level Security: Innovation for Securing Data at Rest" at 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The presentation will give storage users and managers a look at emerging drive-level security technology for notebook PCs and other systems.

Booth P6 - Seagate will highlight DriveTrust Technology, Momentus 5400 FDE.2, and Barracuda ES, Seagate’s new family of enterprise disc drives with up to 750GB of capacity for business-critical applications.

About Seagate
Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate’s business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award- winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world’s growing demand for information storage. Seagate can be found around the globe and at www.seagate.com.

Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. Barracuda, Momentus, DriveTrust and DB35 Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Specified storage capacities reflect standard configurations exclusive of operating system or other software formatting. One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environment and formatting.

Contact Information

Mike Hall

Seagate Technology

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