SSD Data Protection via Metadata Erasure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The disposal of solid state drives (SSDs) with remaining useful life is inefficient due to physical destruction methods, which are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and may not effectively protect data, as data can still be accessible even after destruction.
Innovation Solution
Implementing mechanisms such as mapping logical to physical addresses, compressing and encrypting data, and error-correction coding, which can be erased or changed to prevent data retrieval, allowing SSDs to be reused without erasing data, thereby extending their life and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical destruction of SSDs is performed to protect data, then data security is improved, but time consumption and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by erasing the mapping table (which contains logical-to-physical address mappings) before physical destruction. This preliminary erasure of critical metadata renders the data inaccessible even if the physical medium survives destruction, thereby achieving data security without requiring extensive physical destruction processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and erases only the critical mapping table information from the SSD, separating this essential metadata from the actual data storage areas. By removing just this key component needed for data retrieval, the patent achieves effective data protection without needing to destroy the entire drive physically
2Reliability
If physical destruction of SSDs is performed to protect data, then data security is improved, but SSD reuse is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and selectively erases only the mapping table information while preserving the actual data storage areas. This selective approach allows the SSD to be reused for new data storage after the mapping table is regenerated, enabling resource reuse while maintaining data security of the original data
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards only the mapping table information (which is relatively small in size) while recovering and preserving the bulk storage capacity of the SSD. The erased mapping table can be regenerated when the SSD is reused, allowing the drive to be restored to full functionality for new applications
3Reliability
If data is erased from SSDs before removal to protect data, then data security is improved, but computational resources and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and erases only the mapping table information rather than performing a complete data erasure of the entire SSD. This selective erasure of just the critical metadata significantly reduces the computational resources and power consumption required compared to erasing all data, while still achieving effective data protection
4Reliability
If complete data erasure is performed on SSDs to protect data, then data security is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and erases only the mapping table information, which is a small portion of the total SSD capacity. This selective approach reduces the time required for the erasure operation from what would be required to erase the entire drive, while still achieving effective data security by removing the critical information needed to access the stored data
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are different types of mechanisms for protecting data stored on a solid state drive or device (SSD) without erasing that data and/or without physically destroying the SSD. The different types of mechanisms can be used alone or in combination to prevent data stored on the SSD from being retrieved (accessed and/or read) in a usable or understandable form. The mechanisms include erasing logical-to-physical address mapping information (that is also used for error correction coding and interleaving), erasing compression information, erasing encryption keys, and changing the codec used for error correction coding. Each mechanism can be used online with the SSD installed in a computer system/server.