By: Evan Robertson, Sam Bronson, and Daniel Palij
In the current day and age, research is moving further and further into an entirely digital landscape, shifting away from physical copies of research reports en masse. This digital transformation has also made it easier for researchers to quickly write down and store their findings, allowing for the faster dissemination of information to their peers.
Computers and laptops use internal storage devices to house the data that you put in. This creates a cleaner look for the devices but limits how that information can be moved. If you wanted to take the stored information from one computer to the other without the internet, you would have to either physically remove the storage from the computer or use another storage device to copy the data from the internal drive. The former is time-consuming and inconvenient, as you would have to then install the device into the new computer.
External storage mediums solve this problem, as they can be plugged into the computer, used for storing research, and being removed quickly without any disassembly. This medium allows research to be quickly moved from one computer to another, allowing researchers to become more mobile with their projects, shifting from a laptop to a desktop as needed. In environments where there is a poor or non-existent internet connection, external drives make the transfer of data faster, such as in Africa in 2009, where a carrier pigeon was able to deliver a USB stick 25X faster than the internet connection could.
There are two main types of storage drives that in use today: The Hard Drive and the Solid State Drive (SSD).
Hard Drives are the older technology, using a series of moving parts to store data. The typical Hard Drive uses a series of magnetic discs that spin at high speeds. Along with the disc, there is a metal arm that is used to read and write the data to the discs. As the discs spin, the arm writes in Binary (1’s and 0’s) in the discs, which computers use to store and present data to the user.
An SSD however, does not use any moving parts. Instead, data is stored with small chips stored within an array. Each chip stores a binary 1 or 0, which the computer can translate as your information. This evolution has made SSDs lighter and faster but comes at the increased cost for the devices as the required storage increases.
Both Hard Drives and SSDs also need to deal with the heat factor. When reading and writing data at the maximum speeds of each device, heat is generated and can quickly build up. If the device cannot quickly remove the heat from the area surrounding the parts, then the performance of each device can quickly deteriorate. Third Party heat dissipation devices can be purchased to attach to the mediums, which can allow for the sustained peak performance of the device.
In a research project, the choice between the two storage mediums can change depending on the individual needs of the project. Not every solution is correct for every instance, and other factors such as cost and computational needs factor into the decision-making process.
Hard Drives are good for when the research is in a largely static, unchanging location, as the internal parts may be damaged during any transport, rendering the data inside unreadable. The upside, however, is that Hard drives are significantly cheaper than SSDs, and can read data for documents and pdfs at a reasonable speed.
SSDs are much better for any research projects that are moving from location to location, as there are no moving parts inside the storage device that might be damaged during transportation. Furthermore, the speed at which the SSD reads and writes data is much faster than the hard drive, which allows it to be better in a research project that requires more computing power, such as digital models and videos. SSD also provide more safety and insurance compared to the traditional Hard Drive, as they are less prone to failure over time.
In important research fields, External memory is one of the most targeted assets on a physical level, as the relatively small form factor makes them easy for a “snatch and grab” attack that can happen in only a few second. On a software level, the storage can also be compromised by a software virus. If a computer user downloaded a virus, the virus may be able to read the information on the drive, compromising the safety of it.
To protect yourself physically, drives should be in safe, secure locations anytime that they are not physically on your person. In a lab, utilize locked doors and drawers to protect the information while the drive is not in use. If you are transporting the drive, purchasing a bag with hidden compartments to store the drives in would make any quick theft harder for a would-be attacker. Another way to prevent this would be to use a device with a biometric or security code, making it harder for attackers to access any of the data if they steal it. With increased security comes increased cost, and is most applicable to sensitive data, such as medical research.
Once you have your drive, protecting the information on it is just as important. Tools such as bitlocker and Veracrypt allow for quick encryption of the drives for the user. With bitlocker, if the drive is removed from the computer that it is physically installed in with the data still attached, the new user will be required to provide the key created in order to view the contents.
Veracrypt works by hiding the folders and file within a decoy file. By naming the file something innocuous and providing a secure password, the contents will be hidden from prying eyes, although still detectable with the proper forensic software.
Online Internet safety is just as important as any viruses downloaded can also affect the storage attached. Our article about safe browsing will provide details on how to protect yourself and everyone using a computer from accidentally downloading viruses and infecting a computer.
While no solution is foolproof, obtaining the knowledge required will allow you to take the proper steps to ensure that your information is more secure than before.
Remember:
Hard Drives
- Mechanical Components
- Earlier Invention
Pros
- More Storage for cheaper
- Well Suited fore less intensive media
- Documents
- PDFs
- Audio
Cons
- Movement can cause failure
- Slower Read and Write Speeds
- More Prone to Failure
Solid State Drives
- No Moving Parts
- Newer Invention
Pros
- Physical Movement does not effect Storage
- Faster read and Write Speeds
- Suitable for more intensive research
- 3D Models
- Video
- Software Applications
- Smaller Form Factor
Cons
- More expensive for same amount of data
- Price Scales faster than Hard Drives