Simply having an encrypted device is not enough to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements, enterprises need to also be able to manage encrypted devices. It's a challenge that encryption management vendor Wave Systems is tackling with its Wave Cloud solution.

Wave Systems this week launched its Wave Cloud 2014 solution enabling enterprises to manage self-encrypting drives (SED) as well as Windows BitLocker and Mac FileVault devices.

Most companies are deploying encryption to meet compliance requirements, and that requires proof that a given device is in fact encrypted, Wave Systems CEO Steven Sprague told eWEEK.

"An enormous advantage of using a cloud service like ours to manage machines is that you can prove to the regulators that a device was encrypted when it was lost," Sprague said. "Because once a device is lost, you no longer have the device."