A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk for storing data, the disk comprising a public area for storing plaintext data and a pristine area for storing encrypted data. The disk drive comprises a head for reading the encrypted data from the pristine area of the disk, and a control system for controlling access to the pristine area of the disk. Authentication circuitry within the disk drive is provided for authenticating a request received from an external entity to access the pristine area of the disk and for enabling the control system if the request is authenticated. The disk drive further comprises a secret drive key, and decryption circuitry responsive to the secret drive key, for decrypting the encrypted data stored in the pristine area of the disk.