Seagate and IBM launch pilot testing of blockchain-based hard drive production system

The American manufacturer of computer components Seagate is expanding work with the blockchain to assess the potential of technology in the fight against fraud.

Specializing in the production of hard drives and storage solutions, Seagate, according to Forbes, brings its blockchain product to track hard drive production to the pilot stage in order to assess the scalability of the platform. The project is being developed
in collaboration with IBM since last fall.

Seagate’s data security research team leader Manuel Offenberg told Forbes that, although the pilot project had not yet been launched, the company had already approved it.

The blockchain project for tracking the production of hard drives tracks products sent to the customer in several stages. As part of testing, this customer was IBM, the main Seagate client. Any product returns are also tracked. When deploying the application on a larger scale, it would help ensure that the fake discs will not be returned to the company instead of the original devices.

Another potential use of the platform, especially in Europe in accordance with the General Data Protection Rules 2016, is to verify that any disks returned due to defects or for other reasons have undergone a “certified erase” process to delete any user data .

“When a drive returns as part of the return process, if we can prove that it has been cryptographically cleared, and therefore the information is no longer on the device, then, in terms of risk, the return supply chain may treat this device differently,” – said Offenberg.

Monty Forehand, a security specialist for Seagate products, stated in his report that, although the company’s products already have a QR code-based brand protection label, this system does not use blockchain. If the pilot blockchain project is successfully completed, the technology can be implemented in a larger number of company processes.

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