A cartridge handling system and method are provided to initialize a data storage cartridge having rewritable media and a cartridge memory for tamper resistant write once recording. During initialization of the cartridge for write once recording, selected data set information table fields of each data set are scrambled. The scrambling algorithm may employ a random number generator seeded with a unique cartridge identifier. The fields thus becomes unreadable if the unique identifier is changed, such as if the cartridge memory of the cartridge has been altered or replaced.