The TCG includes ., Hitachi GST, Seagate Technology, Samsung, Toshiba, Western Digital, Wave Systems, LSI Logic, UNLINK Technology and IBM.

"In five years time, you can imagine any drive coming off the production line will be encrypted, and there will be virtually no cost for it," said Jon Oltsik, an analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group.

The three specifications include:

-- The Opal specification, which outlines minimum requirements for storage devices used in PCs and laptops.

-- The Enterprise Security Subsystem Class Specification, which is aimed at drives in data centers and high-volume applications, where typically there is a minimum security configuration at installation.