from globeandmail.com:

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Seagate Technology LLC hopes its new security system for the hard drive will become the most formidable barrier between computer data and thieves.

The world’s largest hard drive maker says its DriveTrust Technology, to be announced Monday, automatically encrypts every bit of data stored on the hard drive and requires users to have a key, or password, before being able to access the disk drive.

Technology that protects the hard drive — the computer’s storehouse of data — differs from most security products launched in the past several years. Such products typically put firewalls around computer networks, encrypt data files or defend the operating system from invasions.

Protecting the hard drive itself offers another layer of protection and might stop thieves from purloining confidential information from lost or stolen laptops. Errant notebook computers have cost government agencies and corporations millions of dollars and put sensitive data — including customer credit cards or social security numbers — on the street, possibly in criminal hands.