Cisco Cisco Storage Media Encryption Libro bianco

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Cisco Storage Media Encryption Key Management

What You Will Learn

The Cisco

Storage Media Encryption (SME) solution enables hardware compression and

encryption on the network before data is written to a tape device.

With the introduction of the Cisco MDS 9222i Multiservice Modular Switch and of the Cisco MDS

9000 18/4-Port Multiservice Module line card providing encryption services, the Cisco SME

solution provides a distributed, highly scalable, and secure network based on the Cisco MDS 9000

family of switches and directors. It offers centralized administration and key management,

simplifying the deployment and management of the solution. This document describes the Cisco

SME key management architecture and options.

Data Security Landscape

In the past, only a small number of organizations adopted some of the available tape encryption

technologies. Data on tape was considered relatively safe, and the risk involved was not enough to

justify the additional cost, slower performance, and additional operation procedures.

Recently, new conditions have caused the risks associated with tape data loss to be seen as much

more critical:

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More stringent privacy regulations: Private data stored in electronic form is subject to

privacy laws such as the European Union (EU) Directive on Privacy and Electronic

Communication (2002), and the Japanese Bill to Protect Personal Data (2001). A growing

number of U.S. states have privacy regulations in place, and several bills were introduced

in the U.S. Congress in 2005. The Visa and MasterCard Payment Card Industry Data

Security Standards (PCI DSS) and the Japan Bank Association’s Data Protection Support

standards are more examples of data privacy demands on technologies.

●

Public disclosure of data breaches: The California Database Breach Act (California Senate

Bill [SB] 1386, 2003) requires that any data breach involving the private data of a California

citizen be announced to the public. As a consequence, most data breaches associated with

lost or stolen clear-text tapes require organizations to alert customers, provide credit

monitoring, and perform damage control, and potential losses may be millions of U.S.

dollars.

●

Long-term data retention requirements: Government regulations such as the Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) Rule 17a-4 demand long-term retention of records. Tape is often used

for data archiving, and tape encryption can be used to keep the data confidential and

tamper-proof.

Tape encryption is now widely regarded as a necessity. In addition, new technology options are

making implementation of a solution that secures data on tape less costly in term of capital

expenses and maintenance.