Tag Archive for: SSD

This new SSD claims to have built-in AI-powered ransomware protection

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What just happened? Data security company Cigent Technology has announced a new line of SSDs that are said to have built-in anti-ransomware technology to protect data from being encrypted by malware. Called the Cigent Secure SSD+, it is said to be the world’s first solid-state drive equipped with baked-in protection against ransomware.

Based in Fort Myers, Florida, Cigent Technology is a cybersecurity firm that protects businesses and individuals from zero-day ransomware and data theft. The company first announced its new ‘self-defending’ SSD in May 2021, claiming its technology can make data invisible if an attack is detected. To do that, the company uses what it calls the Dynamic Data Defense Engine software that uses encryption and offers file-level Zero-Trust access controls.

On the hardware side, the Cigent Secure SSD+ comes with a dedicated AI-powered microprocessor that uses machine learning to monitor disk activity and employs advanced algorithms to thwart ransomware attacks. It has built-in safeguards to prevent the disabling of security controls by malicious software. In case the safeguards are breached and the security controls are disabled, the Secure SSD+ hides all the protected data, making it essentially invisible, and hence inaccessible to attacks. Cigent is also promising to roll out updates to prevent the drive from being cloned, wiped, or accessed if the system is booted from an alternate OS.

The Cigent Secure SSD+ currently only supports Windows, but the company says that support for Linux is ‘coming soon.’ In terms of specifications, the device has an M.2 2280 double-sided form factor and needs to be installed as the boot drive in an endpoint system for it to work as advertised. The rest of the specs, including read/write speeds, are yet to be specified, but it will likely be revealed closer to its launch. The Secure SSD+ will be available for purchase from May 2023 in 480GB, 960GB, and 1920GB capacities.

In addition to the new SSD, Cigent also offers its Data Defense software as a SaaS platform that responds to ransomware attacks with a ‘Shields Up’ status that requires multi-factor authentication to access all protected files. The company…

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Security Firm Unveils SSD With Built-In Ransomware Protection To Safeguard Data

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Cigent Technology is a data security company whose main product is the Data Defense software-as-a-service security suite. The company’s about to introduce a new line of SSDs, though, and one of those is pretty interesting: the Cigent Secure SSD+, with automated anti-ransomware technology that claims to be able to protect sensitive data from sneaky malware before it gets encrypted.

How does this work exactly? Well, Cigent says that there’s a microcontroller on the SSD that monitors all traffic going through the controller. It apparently uses machine learning (or “AI”) in some fashion to tell what traffic is normal everyday I/O and what is ransomware. Once it detects ransomware activity, the drive will lock and require multi-factor authentication to access files.

This brings up all kinds of questions, but thankfully, we have answers to a few of them. First of all, this scanning process supposedly has no impact on the performance of the drive because the microcontroller is connected to the SSD controller, and not in the main data path. Also, the technology isn’t infalliable—Cigent admits on the datasheet that it’s possible some data could be modified before the drive locks it.

That’s to say nothing of the still-unreliable nature of most machine learning technologies. In the worst case, having your drive locked until you unlock it isn’t that bad, but it could certainly be a huge problem if there are a lot of false positives. Likewise if the solution doesn’t actually work when it needs to. The Secure SSD+ datasheet says that it has “mature ML algorithms” that “provide protection against newest ransomware,” and also that detection sensitivity can be dynamically tuned, so that’s good, at least.

Still, Cigent says that it’s a much better solution than typical Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) products because those offerings typically rely on responding after the attack has already occurred, not as it happens. In a statement to The Register, Cigent’s CRO says that the SSD puts attack prevention “as close to the data…

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iStorage Podcast | Ep02 | with Bhav Modha | Hardware Encryption in the UK. (Cyber Security)

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Kingston’s New Encrypted SSD Unlocks Via Touch Screen

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Kingston’s latest encrypted external SSD is designed to be as friendly for consumers to use as it is devilish for hackers to try and crack.  The new Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD VP80ES unlocks like a smartphone, with its intuitive touchscreen, and then enables simple drag-and-drop file transfers. Meanwhile, hackers face a FIPS 197 certified OS-independent device which safeguards against Brute Force attacks and BadUSB with digitally-signed firmware and XTS-AES 256-bit encryption.

Many storage devices you can buy nowadays come with some kind of encryption tools bundled, or if not you can use BitLocker (might be an extra to pay for depending on your version of Windows). However, some of the software is OS specific, or it will require you complete a number of preparatory tasks some users will be tempted to put off until ‘later’. Kingston reckons its IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD VP80ES addresses all these weaknesses, and is a friction free alternative to secure data storage needs for any platform.

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