Self-Encrypting Drives: Summary

When almost every worker is mobile

You dont
Have to
Sacrifice
Performance
for Security

Try thinking of someone that you

know who is not, in some way, part
of the global workforce and conducting that work on a mobile device. IT
analytics firm IDC projects that 37% of
the global workforce will be mobile by
2015.1 Equally astonishing is the growth
rate. In 2013, Forrester Research noted
a 29% rise in the cohort of global anytime, anywhere information workers in
just a two-year period.2

As our ability to work remotely

expands, so does the risk that
untethered computing equipment
and stored information on hard
drives might inadvertently be lost or
fall into the wrong hands. However,
countermeasure solutions to secure
data and devices impact the
mobile workforce in unintended
ways. One of the best security
solutions, encryption software, can
October 2014
either be perceived as cumbersome
or result in actual performance
Tarun Loomba
slowdown. The good news is that
sandisk.com/SSDsolutions companies can benefit from the best
of both worlds with self-encrypting
solid state technologies.

Even where there is no wireless signal,

mobile work proceeds because of the
digital tools and technologies at our
disposal. Mobility allows sales teams
to cover larger territories with fewer
costs, and liberates executives to lead
teams and launch initiatives on multiple
continents simultaneously.
1
2

IDC, Worldwide Mobile Worker Population, 2011-2015

Forrester Research, 2013 Mobile Workforce Adoption Trends

When you combine these new levels of corporate agility with the associated cost savings, it should be no
surprise that the worldwide mobile worker population will increase to more than 1.3 billion by 2015.3 Nearly
75% of the US workforce will be mobile. Yet, with all the mobile enablement and capability in support of the
workforce, why does it seem like we are capturing less business opportunity than we should?
The cost of mobility
Laptops remain standard issue for a mobile workforce, especially in more rigorous field applications like
engineering, sales and healthcare. Yet these essential productivity tools are lost or stolen with astonishing
frequency, costing an estimated $1.8 billion annually.4
For a small company, that cost might be minimal. At a larger public company, the total financial impact could
potentially be in the millions of dollars, without even considering any damage to the brand and stock price.
Information Week estimates that 42% of laptops were lost offsite, when working from a home office or hotel
room, while 32% were lost in transit or when traveling. Another 13% were lost in the workplace, and an
equal percentage of companies didnt know where laptops went missing. Of the total number of laptops lost
by the average organization per year, a company will typically only recover 5% of them.5
While the estimated costs of replacing a laptop might seem high, the $300 laptop itself is the least expensive
cost involved. Cleaning up the resulting data breach typically accounts for 80% of the cost estimate.6 Other
costs include forensics, lost productivity, legal bills, regulatory expenses and lost intellectual property.
The encryption solution
Since recovery of lost or stolen laptops is close to impossible, IT departments are charged with making them
secure with full encryption. But, increasing security and reducing exposure comes at the cost of performance, or at the very minimum, a perceived loss of performance in the users view.
Additionally, Information Week cites research showing that laptops that store valuable information are the
most likely to be stolen. Companies that experience a higher laptop theft rate are also more likely to use disk
encryption. The higher the value of the data on the laptop, the greater the likelihood of encryption software
being installed. Unfortunately this also means a higher chance of a mobile worker seeking to either disable
the encryption software, which is considered a performance reducer, or to find a workaround that exposes
proprietary corporate data.
While many strategies exist for ensuring optimal security for corporate data, encryption has the highest
impact. Best practices for increased security on laptops can encompass hardware encryption, anti-virus software, frequent backing up, data masking and erasure, and remote wiping and tracking.
Addressing the encryption perception
Hardware and software encryption can result in a wide range of performance slowdown, from hardly noticeable to outright task halting, resulting high levels of frustration among users. The standard line is that
encryption imposes a single-digit percentage impact on performance, while others cite a 25-33% drag on
laptop operations.7
What matters most is the perception of encryption hampering a mobile worker, especially one who depends
on a laptop for completing multiple complex tasks in a field environment and getting to the end of the day
ahead of tomorrows workload. Remember those far-flung sales teams and executives? They either have
production goals tied to personal compensation, or at the very least, they just want to go home (or to a
hotel) at night.
IDC, Worldwide Mobile Worker Population, 2011-2015
Mathew J. Schwartz InformationWeek, April 21 2011
5
Mathew J. Schwartz InformationWeek, April 21 2011
3

Mathew J. Schwartz InformationWeek, April 21 2011

http://www.ghacks.net/2009/11/26/bitlocker-versus-true-crypt-performance

Despite the efficiencies and necessity of a mobile workforce, roaming workers are more likely to violate
corporate Internet usage policies, including mobile worker initiated computing workarounds, ignoring
corporate Internet guidelines and a propensity to seek out SaaS and Cloud apps rather than IT-approved
legacy solutions. Its estimated that up to two-thirds of roaming workers tamper with or disable security
features on their laptop when working remotely in attempt to boost laptop performance, and 40% of their
employers say they had been hit by a security threat as a result.8
A balanced and comprehensive solution is needed one that addresses security threats while also countering perceptions among users that the security measures will cause a lag on computing performance. Solid
state drives (SSDs) provide that answer. Data encryption is typically more than 60% faster on SSDs versus a
traditional factory-installed hard-drive.
A self-encrypting SSD combines both performance and security, reducing downtime attributed to hard
drive failures along with extended laptop life cycles. They perform all the same functions as a high-performance SSD, with one important advantage: they automatically encrypt the data at the hardware level, so
enterprises dont need to add after-market encryption software.
Self-encrypting SSDs not only offer industry-standard encryption, they have zero performance impact.
For data intensive applications such as scans, backup and large file operations, SE-SEDs can provide more
than double the drive performance over software encryption.9
The solid state performance advantage is clear. Employees can work in the field securely and productively
and sensitive data is protected in compliance with data protection guidelines.
Conclusion
Corporations expect secure data and data integrity from their laptops and laptop users, especially in
industries with sensitive data, trade secrets, customer data or regulatory and compliance mandates. IT
departments can no longer afford to take chances with data stored on laptops and insist on full disk encryption. Protecting intellectual property even at the potential risk of reduced productivity becomes a prime
concern of upper management.
Mobile workers, on the other hand, expect performance and responsiveness. The trick is achieving full disk
encryption without a perceived penalty to performance. Wed rather reward our road warriors than frustrate
them as they travel and venture into sometimes hazardous or stressful field environments. Given the necessity of laptop encryption, it should not be associated with limitations on processing speeds and application
performance. It should be transparent.

The world of digital content grows exponentially every day and SanDisk is designing flash storage
solutions so that your valued data is readily available and reliable, even in the most challenging
environments. SanDisk solid state drives offer energy-efficient, compact and durable alternatives
to traditional hard disk drives for desktops, laptops and ultra-thin PCs.

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9

www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Seamless-security-for-roaming-workers
www.storagereview.com/top_ten_reasons_to_buy_selfencrypting_drives_seds