Question

An organization's network engineering team recently deployed a new software encryption solution to ensure the confidentiality of data at rest, which was found to add 300ms of latency to data read-write requests in storage, impacting business operations.

Which of the following alternative approaches would BEST address performance requirements while meeting the intended security objective?

A. Employ hardware FDE or SED solutions.
B. Utilize a more efficient cryptographic hash function.
C. Replace HDDs with SSD arrays.
D. Use a FIFO pipe a multithreaded software solution.

Answer 1

The organization can address the performance requirements while meeting the intended security objective by replacing HDDs with SSD arrays, would best address performance requirements while meeting the intended security objective. (option C)

Step-by-step explanation:

While software encryption is essential for data security, the added latency it introduces can impact business operations. Option C suggests replacing traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) with Solid State Drive (SSD) arrays. SSDs are known for their significantly faster read and write speeds compared to HDDs. By adopting SSDs, the organization can maintain data security through encryption while minimizing the latency impact on data read-write requests.

Options A, B, and D offer different approaches, but they might not be as effective in balancing performance and security. Option A suggests employing hardware Full Disk Encryption (FDE) or Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) solutions, which can enhance security but may not completely address latency concerns. Option B proposes using a more efficient cryptographic hash function, which might improve efficiency but may not fully mitigate the latency impact. Option D, using a FIFO pipe and multithreaded software solution, could be complex and may not guarantee a significant reduction in latency.

Replacing HDDs with SSD arrays (Option C) offers a practical and effective solution to maintain data security while minimizing the performance impact introduced by software encryption, making it the best choice for the organization's requirements.