FDE technology automatically encrypts all data written to the drive Seagate Technology announced last week its intention to ship a security technology for some of its hard-disk drives next year, which will make it more difficult for notebook PC thieves to read stolen data.The technology — Hardware-Based FDE (Full Disc Encryption) — will automatically encrypt all data written to the drive, said Mark Pastor, strategic marketing senior director at Seagate.“Before data gets placed on the media, it goes through the encryption. If you steal the drive and are a lab that specializes in retrieving data on the media, it doesn’t matter. When you get the data off, it’s gibberish,” Pastor said. The technology employs Triple DES, a widely used encryption standard, Pastor said.Seagate will initially offer the FDE technology as an option on its forthcoming range of 2.5-inch Momentus 5400 series drives. These drives will begin shipping in the first half of next year and are designed for notebook PCs, according to Pastor.The new technology will be available for notebook PC makers on 40GB, 80GB, and 120GB versions of the Momentus 5400 series drives, which will have a spin speed of 5,400 rpm and use the Ultra ATA-100 interface. Security