This message is from the T13 list server.
Mark Overby wrote:
That's an implementation decision. If I'm building for an embedded environment or whatever, why do I HAVE to set SECURITY FREEZE LOCK. The answer - I don't. In order to maintain backwards compatibility, you can't force someone to issue the command first in order to have the drive work. That would prevent me from buying a new drive for an older system. T13 and ATA strongly, strongly maintains backwards compatibility as a design feature.
If "add SFL to your ATA implementation" is the standing recommendation of T13, for high-volume Wintel platforms, then it is not backwards compatible.
We're not talking about embedded platforms here; we're talking about 66% (according to Heise) of the popular Wintel platforms not setting SECURITY FREEZE LOCK.
Jeff
