Editing Linear Tape-Open (section)

=== Encryption ===
The LTO-4 specification added a feature to allow LTO-4 drives to encrypt data before it is written to tape.<ref name="LTO-4 encryption"/> All LTO-4 drives must be aware of encrypted tapes, but are not required to support the encryption process. All current LTO manufacturers support encryption natively enabled in the tape drives using Application Managed Encryption (AME). The algorithm used by LTO-4 is [[Advanced Encryption Standard|AES]]-[[Galois/Counter Mode|GCM]], which is an authenticated, symmetric block cipher. The same key is used to encrypt and decrypt data, and the algorithm can detect tampering with the data. Tape drives, tape libraries, and backup software can request and exchange encryption keys using either proprietary protocols, or an open standard like [[OASIS (organization)|OASIS]]'s [[Key Management Interoperability Protocol]].