Storage encryption is the use of encryption for data both in transit and on storage media. Data is encrypted while it passes to storage devices, such as individual hard disks, tape drives, or the libraries and arrays that contain them. Using storage level encryption along with database and file encryption goes a long way toward offsetting the risk of losing your data. Like network encryption, storage encryption is a relatively blunt instrument, typically protecting all the data on each tape or disk regardless of the type or sensitivity of the data.