IEEE Approves Standards for Data Encryption

By DE Editors

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE; Piscataway, NJ) has approved two new standards regarding the encryption of data on computer hard drives and other storage devices. The first standard, IEEE 1619 “Standard for Cryptographic Protection of Data on Block-Oriented Storage Devices,” addresses data storage on disk drives.

The second approved standard, IEEE 1619.1 “Standard for Authenticated Encryption with Length Expansion for Storage Devices,” handles data encryption on enterprise-class tape drives.

“These standards were developed by an international team of storage technologists, cryptologists and cryptographers,” said Matt Ball, Chair for the IEEE Security in Storage Working Group (SISWG) and the 1619.1 task group chair and technical editor. “They will help companies to comply with the data-protection requirements of legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and California’s SB 1386.”

IEEE 1619 and 1619.1 are the third and fourth IEEE security in storage standards, following on the heels of IEEE 1667 (2007) “Protocol for Authentication of Transiently Connected Storage Devices” and IEEE 1244.2 (2000) “Media Management System (MMS) Session Security, Authentication Initialization Protocol (SSAIP)”.

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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.