Question

Which of the following statements illustrates an advantage that a Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) offers over Full Disk Encryption (FDE)?

A) SEDs typically have lower performance overhead compared to FDE solutions.
B) FDE provides stronger encryption algorithms than SEDs.
C) SEDs require specialized hardware, making them less accessible than FDE.
D) FDE allows for more granular control over individual file encryption.

Answer 1

C) SEDs require specialized hardware, making them less accessible than FDE, A Self-Encrypting Drive offers the advantage of lower performance overhead compared to Full Disk Encryption solutions, as the encryption process is offloaded to dedicated hardware on the SED.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that illustrates an advantage that a Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) offers over Full Disk Encryption (FDE) is: SEDs typically have lower performance overhead compared to FDE solutions. This is because SEDs perform encryption and decryption on the drive itself using dedicated hardware, which greatly minimizes the impact on system resources. In contrast, FDE solutions use software running on the host CPU, which can introduce performance overhead, particularly when handling large amounts of data or during high disk usage scenarios.

Contrary to statement B, FDE does not inherently provide stronger encryption algorithms than SEDs. Both can use strong encryption standards such as AES. Statement C suggests a disadvantage rather than an advantage, as specialized hardware could be seen as less accessible. Finally, statement D gives an advantage of FDE over SEDs, not the other way around.