Managing access to tape cartridges at a tape archival service provider

A computer program product implemented in a tape drive in which a tape cartridge is coupled including a tape medium, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that is executable to perform operations, the operations comprising:

• receiving, from a user computer associated with a user, plain-text data to write to the tape medium;
• sending, to the user computer, a product specific public key associated with the tape drive;
• receiving, from the user computer, a key encryption key comprising a user encryption key, associated with the user, encrypted with the product specific public key, wherein the product specific public key and a product specific private key, maintained in the tape drive, are a pair of keys in a cryptographic system;
• decrypting the key encryption key with the product specific private key to produce the user encryption key;
• and
• using the user encryption key to encrypt the plain-text data read from the tape medium to return to a read request.

A system comprising a tape drive in which a tape cartridge is coupled, comprising:

• a non-volatile memory;
• a tape medium;
• a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that is executed to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• determining whether the non-volatile memory of the tape cartridge stores a key encryption key comprising an encrypted user encryption key associated with a user;
• and
• in response to determining that the non-volatile memory of the tape cartridge stores the key encryption key, performing:
• decrypting the key encryption key to produce the user encryption key;
• and
• providing the user encryption key, resulting from the decrypting, to an encryption engine of the tape drive to encrypt plain-text data read from the tape medium in the tape cartridge with the user encryption key to return to a read request.

A system comprising a tape drive in which a tape cartridge is coupled, comprising:

• a tape medium;
• receiving, from a user computer associated with a user, plain-text data to write to the tape medium;
• and
• a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that is executed to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• sending, to the user computer, a product specific public key associated with the tape drive;
• receiving, from the user computer, a key encryption key comprising a user encryption key, associated with the user, encrypted with the product specific public key, wherein the product specific public key and a product specific private key, maintained in the tape drive, are a pair of keys in a cryptographic system;
• decrypting the key encryption key with the product specific private key to produce the user encryption key;
• and
• using the user encryption key to encrypt the plain-text data read from the tape medium to return to a read request.

A method implemented in a tape drive in which a tape cartridge is coupled, comprising:

• determining whether a non-volatile memory of the tape cartridge stores a key encryption key comprising an encrypted user encryption key associated with a user;
• and
• in response to determining that the non-volatile memory of the tape cartridge stores the key encryption key, performing:
• decrypting the key encryption key to produce the user encryption key;
• and
• providing the user encryption key, resulting from the decrypting, to an encryption engine of the tape drive to encrypt plain-text data read from a tape medium in the tape cartridge with the user encryption key to return to a read request.