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Seems like much ado about nothing to me.... so you can break open an SSD and read the data.... whoopee... can't you break open a HDD and read the platters just the same? If you care that much, encrypt your data.

If I understand the article right, all these theoretical hacks are only possible with physical access to your computer's SSD. So basically these are post-ownership risks.
By the time current users with SSDs in their computers sell them for new SDD-sporting computers, the latter will likely be more secure and the former will make up a tiny not-entirely-secure minority, if this IDG article is actually based on facts and not the usual sensational scare tactics.

I think the article is trying to say "SSDs are no more inherently secure than HDs."

This suggests an entire series of articles, such as "water still wet", "washing your car doesn't make it go faster" and "study: both Windows and Macintosh computers use microprocessors!" :)

tewha said:

Haha, exactly. :D IDG was bored and needed some way to induce fear about an Apple product (today, MacBook Air), even though a number of ultraportable laptops are shipping with SSDs.

How do these problems not apply to the way storage is held onto today? Hard drives can be erased with a powerful magnet (sometimes it doesn't even have to be powerful with laptop drives), ALL encryption keys can be found and used to be translated (after all, if you could find the key the first time, it's possible to find it again, no matter who it is), and finally, "they can be removed"?
What kind of argument is that? Isn't that generally an advantage? Couldn't you separate your memory from your phone for more security? (Or would that only be a downside since you would be probably more likely to lose it?)
Tires can be removed! Your pants can be removed! Heck, even your house can be removed!
All of these things can be removed from your belonging without you knowing. A solid-state drive being pulled from a computer is nothing different.
Finally, can we get back to the major awesomeness of SSD's? Let's see, they can store data and access it at VERY fast speeds (in fact, the only limitation is the size of the capacitor and the material of the insulator), they last much much longer than typical hard drives, they use less power, and they will get extremely cheap (a 4gb flash drive, the usb kind, is worth about $8-12 now).
I wish that articles weren't made to address the newest faults found with a product, but instead would only revise an initial statement through a summary.