Seagate, IBM to use blockchain to fight HDD piracy

Seagate and IBM have announced a new partnership aimed at reducing counterfeiting of hard disk drive products using blockchain and security technologies.

The new initiative uses the IBM Blockchain Platform to authenticate the provenance of disk drive products for manufacturers, system integrators and business partners.

The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition estimates that global trade in counterfeit and pirated electronic products is now worth an estimated US$1.77 trillion ($2.44 trillion).

In a bid to tackle the problem in the hard drive segment, Seagate plans to use the IBM Blockchain Platform on the IBM Cloud to store product authentication data based on a unique Seagate Secure electronic identifier.

This identifier can be used to verify the identity of a hard drive at any time in its product life cycle.

Seagate will also use blockchain platform to store digital certificates of data purge produced by Seagate’s Certified Erase service for compliance management with global data privacy laws.

“Blockchain technology can be extremely effective in confirming provenance and authenticity of assets,” said IBM Global Managing Director of Electronics Bruce Anderson.

“The ability to work with Seagate to combine blockchain with advanced cryptographic product identification technology is what sets this work apart, and signals blockchain’s potential to reimagine the electronics product life cycle management processes. Counterfeit electronic components are a global issue that requires an ecosystem-wide effort to address.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Denys Rudyi

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