Skip to main content

A speed benefit in solid-state disk design opens them up for attack

ssd design contains data corruption vulnerability ps4 pro how to7
Solid-state disks (SSDs) offer some serious benefits over their older hard-disk drive (HDD) siblings. SSDs are faster by orders of magnitude than HDDs, and they’re fundamentally more reliable — particularly for mobile devices where moving parts can be affected by movement and drops.

As SSD pricing has dropped from being significantly more expensive than HDDs to only a little more expensive, the price-to-performance ratio has improved to where SSDs have become by far the preferred storage device. However, some new information suggests that SSDs aren’t perfect and bring a unique vulnerability to particular kinds of attacks, as ExtremeTech reports.

The details are complex and require digging into the details of how SSDs are designed and how they work. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University were the first to uncover the flaw, and their findings are covered in copious technical detail in a recently published paper.

In simpler terms, the vulnerability affects particular kinds of SSDs that are based on multilevel cell (MLC) technology, which make up the majority of those currently being sold and developed. The vulnerability in question does not affect older single-level cell (SLC) devices. The most advanced 3D NAND flash used in some SSDs are not affected yet but could be affected in future designs.

The vulnerability leverages a design quality of MLC-based SSDs that actually confers some benefits, including lower latency and better performance. The problem stems from the fact that data is written into a buffer directly from the individual flash cell that’s going to be written and not from the SSD’s flash controller.

Again, it’s all very technical, but basically, data can be corrupted by an attacker introducing interference and introducing errors during the programming process. That can result in corrupted data and actual damage to an SSD.

The solution would be to buffer data into the SSD flash controller and allow the controller to correct errors. The problem with this response is that it would also increase latency by around 5 percent and thus reduce performance — something that manufacturers might not be quick to do in the consumer market in particular given the important of raw speed to selling SSDs.

In any event, there’s something else to worry about to go along with the waves of malware and ransomware attacks we’ve seen lately. Our SSDs aren’t as safe as we thought they were, and that’s all we needed.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Coppock
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
HP is having a big sale on some of its best laptops, from just $270
HP Spectre x360 13.5 front angled view showing display and keyboard deck.

For anyone looking for great laptop deals, look no further than HP right now. The popular manufacturer has a huge sale of all kinds of laptops. That includes deep discounts on budget-priced devices that are ideal for taking to class, right up to gaming laptops and super-stylish 2-in-1 laptops. Whatever your budget or expectations, there's something here for you. Let's take a deeper look at how you can save.
HP 14-inch laptop -- $270, was $450

Ideal for a student on a tight budget and simply in need of a laptop for typing up reports or taking notes, the HP 14-inch laptop is far from fast but it's competent. It has an Intel Celeron N4500 processor, along with 8GB of memory and 128GB of SSD storage. It'll run Windows 11 Home well enough with its 14-inch HD screen giving you sufficient room to work on. There's also a HP True Vision 720p HD webcam for taking video calls along with HP Fast Charge support so you can recharge quickly.

Read more
Best 17-inch laptop deals: Get a large laptop from just $330
Dell XPS 17 9370 front angled view showing display and keyboard deck.

If you're planning to buy a new laptop but you want the biggest screen possible, you should be looking at 17-inch laptop deals. This is the largest size for most of the best laptop brands, and it's going to make editing documents, watching streaming content, browsing the internet, and playing video games very easy on the eyes because of the additional digital real estate. It's expected that 17-inch laptops will be more expensive than their smaller counterparts, but fortunately, there are offers that will let you enjoy discounts, and we've rounded up some of the best of them right here. It's highly recommended that you push through with your purchase for any of these as soon as possible though, because we're not sure how long stocks will last.
HP Laptop 17t -- $330, was $500

Here's one of the most affordable laptop deals if you want a 17-inch screen -- the HP Laptop 17t, which features a 17.3-inch display with HD+ resolution. It's not going to challenge the best laptops in terms of performance, but it's got what it takes to carry out basic functions with its Intel N200 processor and Intel UHD Graphics. It also packs 8GB of RAM, which is considered by our guide on how much RAM do you need as a good starting point for laptops. The HP Laptop 17t also comes with a 256GB SSD with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded, so it's ready for use right after unboxing.

Read more
Apple Vision Pro vs. Meta Quest Pro: How will Apple stack up?
Apple Vision Pro has a digital crown just like the Apple Watch.

Apple's new Vision Pro is more than triple the price of Meta's premium VR headset, the Quest Pro. Is the Vision Pro really worth the extra expense, or will you be just as happy with a Quest Pro and thousands of dollars left in your pocket? You might be surprised at the answer.

Quality is a great way to justify a high price. Meta and Apple each boast advanced designs, better displays, fast performance, and greater comfort than mainstream headsets. When comparing which is the best VR headset, you should consider all of these details. Which aspects are most important depends on how you anticipate using the device.

Read more