Intel® vPro™ Technology

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Storage Protection with Intel® Anti-Theft Technology - Data Protection (Intel® AT-d)

Introduction

On October 8, 1871, a fire began in a small wood shed in Chicago, Illinois, and for a variety of reasons it spread to destroy more than 2000 acres of prime downtown real estate. This fire became known as the Great Chicago Fire, one of the most infamous fires of the 19th century. Following this disaster, the city’s fire-prevention standards were reformed, and building codes were later put into place.

Preventing data theft and accidental disclosure of proprietary information is analogous to good fire-prevention measures. It requires a small upfront investment to ensure devastating losses won’t occur later.

Data-at-rest (DAR) encryption technology prevents the unauthorized use of data stored on lost or stolen storage devices, thereby preventing these data from being spread on the Internet or other networks. DAR encryption is like placing your valuables in a fireproof safe; even if the surrounding building burns to the ground, the valuables inside are still safe. It is inevitable that stored data will get lost or stolen. The only reliable way of protecting data at rest from these threats is encryption.

In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [1] and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [2], as well as numerous state regulations, constitute the “building codes” that mandate adoption of DAR encryption. More recently, the state of Nevada, for example, has strengthened regulations to require encryption unconditionally [3]. Many other state laws allow user notification as a substitute for encryption.

Moreover, similar regulations exist in other countries: the European Union’s Data Protection Directive [4], Japan’s Personal Information Privacy Act [5], and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. All of these laws were put in place to help protect DAR.

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