Seagate plans to enhance its Momentus lineup further with the Momentus FDE, a 2.5-inch drive with the capability to encrypt is data. Encrypting the information will make a stolen notebook less valuable to thieves, as well as preventing identity theft and the loss of sensitive corporate data, [Rob Pait, Seagate's director of global consumer electronics marketing] said.

The FDE drive is OS-independent, and will require the user to enter some form of identifier to unlock the drive – possibly a password or biometric key, although the level of security is up to the OEM, Pait said. The drive's key will be placed on a hidden portion of the drive, and will also require a check with the host system to verify identity. The encryption scheme used will be a "4C" method, Pait said, apparently the one designed by 4C Entity LLC to allow data access only by the approved system, in much the same way digital music files may be restricted to certain playback devices.

In a decision with ominous implications for computer users concerned about the privacy of their e-mail communications, a Minnesota appeals court has ruled the mere presence of encryption software on a computer may be interpreted as evidence of criminal intent. Ari David Levie, who was convicted in Minnesota of taking photographs of a nude 9-year-old female, argued on appeal that the Pretty Good Privacy Inc. encryption utility software on his computer was irrelevant and should have been excluded as evidence during his trial. PGP Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., distributes the software, which uses 128-bit asymmetric key encryption. It is the most popular encryption program worldwide and numbers among its users 90 percent of the Fortune Top 10 commercial banks. The Minnesota appeals court ruled 3-0 that the trial judge was correct to allow that information when rendering a guilty verdict. Judge R.A. Randall wrote in an opinion dated May 3, "We find that evidence of appellant's Internet use and the existence of an encryption program on his computer was at least somewhat relevant to the state's case against him."