What happens to the password if I disable the VCD through firmware upgrade or by any means

Thanks for our reply but i need a verdict on this one as anybody’s personal data is more important than what-ever the expense you make while buying an external drive. I dont know how it means for anyone else but for me its better for my  disk to become an expensive paperweight than to see my personel data scrambled in somebody elses hands.

Can anyone confirm me if my disk is password protected is there any way someone would still have access to the disks and bypass the password either by disabling the vcd or any thing else by any firmware upgrade or by any other means?