Cigent Announces SSD With Built-In Ransomware Protection To Safeguard Data

Cigent Technology is a company that focuses on data security, offering the Data Defense software-as-a-service security suite as its primary product. However, the company is now planning to release a new series of SSDs, and one particular product stands out: the Cigent Secure SSD+. This SSD comes equipped with an advanced anti-ransomware technology that can automatically safeguard valuable data from malicious software even before it can be encrypted. This feature seems particularly noteworthy and could be a game-changer in data protection.

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The Cigent Secure SSD+ has a microcontroller that keeps a close eye on all traffic passing through the controller. Through some kind of machine learning or “AI” technology, the microcontroller is able to distinguish normal everyday input/output traffic from malicious ransomware activity. When it detects any suspicious activity that could indicate a ransomware attack, the SSD immediately locks up and requires multi-factor authentication in order to access the files. This seems like a pretty sophisticated and effective way to protect sensitive data.

Cigent claims that the scanning process doesn’t negatively impact the drive’s performance. This is because the microcontroller is connected to the SSD controller, rather than being part of the main data path. However, it’s important to note that the anti-ransomware technology isn’t foolproof. In fact, according to Cigent’s own datasheet, it’s still possible for some data to be modified before the drive is able to lock it down.

It is important to note that most machine learning technologies still have some level of unreliability. While being locked out of your drive until you can unlock it might not be the end of the world, it could become a major issue if there are a lot of false positives. Furthermore, if the anti-ransomware solution doesn’t actually work when it needs to, it’s pretty much useless. However, the Secure SSD+ datasheet claims that it utilizes “mature ML algorithms” to provide protection against the latest ransomware attacks. Additionally, the sensitivity of the detection can be adjusted dynamically, which is certainly a positive feature.

According to Cigent, their Secure SSD+ is a superior solution to typical Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) products. This is because those products generally respond to attacks after they’ve already happened, whereas the Secure SSD+ is designed to prevent the attack from occurring in the first place. Cigent’s Chief Revenue Officer told The Register that the SSD provides attack prevention “as close to the data as possible,” making it difficult for attackers to destroy data even if they’ve breached other security measures.

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At the moment, the Secure SSD+ can only be used as the main operating system drive in a Windows system, as it currently does not support Linux. However, Cigent has stated that Linux support will be available soon. The datasheet primarily focuses on the SSD’s security features and provides limited information about its hardware. We do know that it will be utilizing a Phison controller and will be available in 480 GB, 960 GB, and 1920 GB capacities when it launches in May.

Via HotHardware