Information Security Tips Series
Solid-State Drive Security



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A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device using flash memory to store data. Compared with the traditional magnetic hard disk, it does not have any moving mechanical components and so it is typically less susceptible to physical shock, more quiet and faster in performance. In recent years, as technology develops and the price is dropping, SSD has become popular and gradually replaced the traditional hard disk, especially in notebook computers.

While people are enjoying the new technology, they should be aware of the threats associated with SSD from the information security point of view.
 
Limited life of SSD

Although SSD does not fail mechanically due to moving parts, the data storage block inside SSD can only be erased or written a limited number of times. Once it has exceeded the number, it fails and the data inside cannot be read any more. Different vendors use different techniques to extend the life of their SSD products. One of them is called "wear leveling", which distributes writings as evenly as possible across all the internal data storage blocks. In a perfect scenario, this would enable every block to be written to its maximum life before SSD fails.
Data erasure in SSD

However, "wear leveling" has its drawback. For example, if a file is being saved or overwritten multiple times, such technique will "distribute" the writings across different blocks. The updated file will be written to a "new" but different block while the original data block is only marked as "deleted" and left aside. Thus the traditional overwriting method for secure file erasure does not work in SSD. Degaussing also does not work in SSD as data are not stored in magnetic form.

To address the issues above, you can:
1. Encrypt the new SSD before use. Once encrypted, the data left inside SSD, including the "deleted" ones, cannot be retrieved without the decryption key.
2. Choose SSD with software bundled or certified by vendors for secure data erasure of the whole SSD. Most SSD vendors will use built-in commands to achieve the secure data erasure.
3. Backup your valuable data regularly (no matter data are stored in SSD or traditional hard disks).






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