Data is much more difficult to erase from SSDs than HDDs

wconeybeer 2011-02-19 04:00:08 UTC #1

Data is much more difficult to erase from SSDs than HDDs.

[newsimage]http://static.rankone.nl/images_posts/2011/02/UV6Pii.jpg[/newsimage]Solid State Drives (SSD) have become a popular replacement for traditional hard disk drives (HDD) because of better data transfer rates and the fact that the lack of moving parts makes failures less likely. SSDs do have another downside, however, in addition to being more expensive than HDDs.


Read the full article here: [http://www.myce.com/news/data-is-much-more-difficult-to-erase-from-ssd-than-hdd-40358/](http://www.myce.com/news/data-is-much-more-difficult-to-erase-from-ssd-than-hdd-40358/)


Please note that the reactions from the complete site will be synched below.

RCM 2011-02-19 18:44:55 UTC #2

There’s always one way to do it! Delete everything, and then fill it up with a bunch of smaller files that are just random text until the drive is full! (Why didn’t they try that?!)

jshippy 2011-02-20 00:19:48 UTC #3

[QUOTE=RCM;2576183]There’s always one way to do it! Delete everything, and then fill it up with a bunch of smaller files that are just random text until the drive is full! (Why didn’t they try that?!)[/QUOTE]

That could work, but i’d rather… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL5LjCEEO5Q

RCM 2011-02-20 00:30:32 UTC #4

LOL!

Sean 2011-02-20 04:30:34 UTC #5

If it’s an SSD that has failed outside warranty, then 10 seconds in a Microwave on high should take care of the data.

RCM 2011-02-20 11:34:23 UTC #6

That’s not as fun as taking the cover off and attacking it with a blowtorch!

AIRBUD7 2011-02-20 12:23:27 UTC #7

Yep…shippy, that will do it!

Dee 2011-02-20 12:24:21 UTC #8

I wonder if any of these tests were carried out on a modern SSD?
SSDs based on SandForce controllers for example, encrypts all data on the fly.
Plus on most modern SSDs that support the internal secure erase command, they simply apply 21V across the substrate and all NAND in the SSD is returned to factory default (clean state) in an instant.

Having said that. Would I trust that any private data on a drive was really gone before i tossed the drive?
No. I would take a hammer to the NAND chips themselves and make sure they couldn’t be read.

getit29 2011-02-20 17:58:07 UTC #9

[QUOTE=Dee;2576332]I would take a hammer to the NAND chips themselves and make sure they couldn’t be read.[/QUOTE]

When the SSD dies out of warranty do like the MC Hammer song

It’s Hammer Time…

RCM 2011-02-20 18:03:11 UTC #10

[QUOTE=getit29;2576379]When the SSD dies out of warranty do like the MC Hammer song

It’s Hammer Time… [/QUOTE]

How about 30 volts DC across the NAND chips? Smoke them and fry them! NO DATA RECOVERY POSSIBLE!

Liggy 2011-02-21 04:42:39 UTC #11

[QUOTE=Dee;2576332]Having said that. Would I trust that any private data on a drive was really gone before i tossed the drive?
No. I would take a hammer to the NAND chips themselves and make sure they couldn’t be read.[/QUOTE]
I hope you’re not going to do this with the drive that you’re going to send to me

I’ll promise that I’m not going to try and retrieve your personal data.

DrageMester 2011-02-21 05:10:59 UTC #12

Maybe the MyCE review team should do a Mythbusters-like (MyCEbusters?) test of what it takes to destroy data on SSDs?

You could start with software solutions, and continue with e.g. boiling in hot water, microwaving, shooting bullets through the computer, and of course end with the mandatory C4 explosives?!

Liggy 2011-02-21 07:16:47 UTC #13

[QUOTE=DrageMester;2576450]You could start with software solutions, and continue with e.g. boiling in hot water, microwaving, shooting bullets through the computer, and of course end with the mandatory C4 explosives?! [/QUOTE]
Will you provide us with all the hardware that is required for such a test?

DrageMester 2011-02-21 07:22:46 UTC #14

[QUOTE=Liggy;2576464]Will you provide us with all the hardware that is required for such a test? [/QUOTE] I only wish I had access to the firearms and C4, but we’re not even allowed to carry knives here in DK!

Liggy 2011-02-21 10:15:06 UTC #15

I was rather talking about all the SSD drives. But now that you mention it, I probably don’t have much more than a pocket knife that I could use to destroy the data.

RCM 2011-02-21 11:51:35 UTC #16

How about some HCL (hydrochloric acid) or my other suggestion of the 30 volts on the NAND chips?

mciahel 2011-02-21 11:52:34 UTC #17

A workshop with welding equipment should be able to help. Even in unarmed countries

Michael

tmc8080 2011-02-21 15:25:08 UTC #18

If the data is/was mission critical & needed to be secure in the first place, the drive’s owner must use encryption of a level that matches the needed security. IMO, this is why as SSD’s are developed, there might end up being a new type of SSD which can depolarize the memory so that a true wipe is possible-- such as wipe that would require a low-level reformatting of the media to make it useable again.

RCM 2011-02-21 15:27:59 UTC #19

[QUOTE=tmc8080;2576556]If the data is/was mission critical & needed to be secure in the first place, the drive’s owner must use encryption of a level that matches the needed security. IMO, this is why as SSD’s are developed, there might end up being a new type of SSD which can depolarize the memory so that a true wipe is possible-- such as wipe that would require a low-level reformatting of the media to make it useable again.[/QUOTE]

True, but I was talking about if the drive was dead!

Drum 2011-02-28 05:05:01 UTC #20

[QUOTE=mciahel;2576500]A workshop with welding equipment should be able to help. Even in unarmed countries

Michael[/QUOTE]

The only “Unarmed” people are peopel who lack imagination and knowledge. The government can ban guns, knives and explosives, but anyone with a brain can make hundreds of lethal weapons from common household items. It could be a lethal mistake to assume that because someone doesn;t have a knife, gun or pipe they are unarmed. As long as someone has a functioning brain, they may be well armed.(this excludes politicians and lawyers, naturally).

Personally I like the blowtorch, but it is far more impressive on capacitors than memory. I don’t know enough about the chips to be sure about this, but I suspect the hammer method is enough to discourage anyone but serious government angencies, and I would hope none of you would have anything on your computers that would warrent that kind of scrutiny. I know I don’t, although with the RIAA, one never knows thses days, they have been known to subcontract out to some shady characters.