Hitachi announced today that it's equipping their 200GB Travelstar 7K200 hard drive with a bulk data encryption option. Information can be encrypted right as it's being written to the hard disk.
By taking advantage of bulk data encryption, users can scramble data
as it is written to the disk by using an encryption key. They can then
retrieve the descrambled information when and where they choose by
using the same encryption key.
In addition, the Bulk Data Encryption option reduces the need for
arduous and time-consuming data-erasing processes when it's time for a
hard drive to be jettisoned and discarded. End users only need to
delete their encryption key on the Travelstar to keep the hard drive
completely unreadable and protected against data theft or malicious
activities, according to HGST.