HP StoreEver Ultrium Tape Drives - Manual (Page 49)

• Ultrium 1.6 TB media (C7974A or C7974W); no encryption will be performed when writing earlier
generations of tape
When should I use encryption?
Your company policy will determine when you need to use encryption. For example, it may be mandatory
for company confidential and financial data, but not for personal data. Company policy will also define
how encryption keys should be generated and managed. Backup applications that support encryption
will generate a key for you or allow you to enter a key manually.
NOTE:
Encryption with keys that are generated directly from passwords or passphrases may be less secure than
encryption using truly random keys. Your application should explain the options and methods that are
available. Please refer to your application’s user documentation for more information.
How do I enable encryption?
Hardware encryption is turned off by default and is switched on by settings in your backup application,
where you also generate and supply the encryption key. Your backup application must support hardware
encryption for this feature to work. The software supplied with the tape drive provides this support. See
http://www.hp.com/go/connect for an up-to-date list of other suitable backup software.
When will I be asked to enter the key?
Encryption is primarily designed to protect the media once it is offline and to prevent it being accessed
from another machine. You will be able to read and append the encrypted media without being
prompted for a key as long as it is being accessed by the machine and application that first encrypted it.
There are two main instances when you will need to know the key:
• If you try to import the media to another machine or another instance of the backup application
• If you are recovering your system after a disaster
What happens if I don’t remember the key?
If you are unable to supply the key when requested to do so, neither you nor HP Support will be able to
access the encrypted data.
This guarantees the security of your data, but also means that you must be careful in the management
of the encryption key used to generate the tape.
WARNING!
You should keep a record or backup of your encryption keys and store them in a secure place separate
from the computer running the backup software.
Does encryption affect tape drive performance?
Hardware encryption can be used with or without compression and without speed or capacity penalties.
Does the tape drive encrypt media in an earlier Ultrium format?
No. Encryption is supported only on Ultrium 1.6 TB media (C7974A or C7974W).
Ultrium 1.6 TB tapes encrypted on an HP Ultrium 1760 (or HP Ultrium 1840) tape drive can be read on
any compatible Ultrium 1760 (or Ultrium 1840) tape drive that supports hardware encryption.
Ultrium Half-Height SCSI Tape Drives 49