Viasat NVMe M.2 2280 DARC-ssd 600 Data-at-Rest Cryptography SSD Evaluated for Top Secret Data by UK Government

Viasat U.K. Ltd., a subsidiary of global communications company Viasat Inc., announced that its UK designed and manufactured next-gen data-at-rest cryptography SSD, DARC-ssd 600, has been evaluated for the protection of data up to ‘Top Secret’ classification by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data-at-rest technology secures government devices that are stolen, lost or attacked, protecting UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other sensitive government data.

The UK NCSC completed its CAPS evaluation of the company’s DARC-ssd 600 for the protection of data at rest up to Top Secret classification, making it an only hardware encrypted SSD using the industry-standard interface and form factor to attain this status. The DARC-ssd solution is an encryption device using a NVMe interface and M.2 small form factor that can be used for Top Secret and below data, creating a highly secure and flexible encryption solution for government customers.

DARC-ssd 600 is designed to deliver improved performance compared to existing data at rest solutions, while ensuring high level of protection for both military and government users. By using the NVMe interface and common form factor M.2 2280, the DARC-ssd 600 allows customers to upgrade older hardware and integrate next-gen encryption with the latest COTS and tactical military devices – laptops, desktops, tablets, servers, and network-attached storage.

“Keeping data secure in an age when data breaches can cause serious long-term repercussions is critical. As a longtime provider of information assurance solutions to the UK government, we’ve seen the evolution of encryption technology and the growing challenge to ensure Top Secret and other sensitive data for government users on their devices is as secure as possible,” said Hisham Awad, managing director. “The DARC-ssd 600 continues Viasat’s decades-long tradition of hardware encryption solutions offering the highest possible level of accreditation to the UK armed forces and wider government. We’re excited to continue working with our partners and direct UK government customers to provide advanced data-at-rest capability to protect valuable UK government and military data and enable secure integration with the latest commercial and military devices.“

The DARC-ssd 600 uses the company’s integrated military level 256-bit AES hardware with full drive hardware encryption for all data and the OS. Data is decrypted upon bootup of the device with mandatory 2-factor authentication and then encrypted immediately when the device is powered off. Unlike software encryption managed by the OS, this hardware encryption approach limits the impact on overall device performance and manages secure authentication and encryption within the hardware container itself, which decreases the opportunity for tampering.

In addition, DARC-ssd is designed to offer quicker loading times and lower power consumption, as well as a covert and user experience making it a data security solution for defense customers that is available in capacities ranging from 256, 512GB and 1TB.

Resource:
Viasat’s data-at-rest encryption devices