A storage device includes: a storage memory component to store requested data in encrypted format; and a storage controller connected to the storage memory component over a storage interface, the storage controller to: receive a command and a decryption override indicator from a host device over a host interface to read the requested data from the storage memory component; retrieve the requested data from the storage memory component in the encrypted format in response to the command; and transmit the requested data in the encrypted format to a destination storage device over a transport layer in response to the decryption override indicator.