A system, method and data storage device for encrypting data to provide at-rest data encryption of data in the data storage device. The system includes a compression engine for receiving a host data stream packet and selectively generating a compressed data packet, and an encryption engine in electronic communication with the compression engine for receiving an unencrypted data packet from the compression engine. The unencrypted data packet comprises the compressed data packet when the compression engine generates the compressed data packet. The unencrypted data packet comprises the host data packet when the compression engine does not generate the compressed data packet. The encryption engine generates an encrypted data packet having an encrypted component corresponding to the unencrypted data packet and a set of meta data indicative of one or more characteristic of the encrypted data packet.