All I Want For Christmas Is... Memristor Technology!

There are some technologies that make you say "wow, that's pretty cool". Then there is technology that simply changes the game. We're talking technology that has the potential to rival the invention of the computer chip itself! Memristor has that potential ~ and whether you are a digital forensics specialist or a home-made computer whiz, memristor is a name you are going to want to remember. When memristor technology catches on (verdict is still out on how long that will be) traditional computing as we know could potentially be out the door, old hat, done, stuff that 'grandpa' used! Today's traditional computing is tomorrow's rotary phone; it's tomorrow's Atari gaming system! Yes, memristor has that potential. I'll go so far as to say it's "kinda' important" and you might want to follow it!

WHAT IS MEMRISTOR: Memristor (memory resistor) is considered the fourth type of electric circuit joining the resistor, capacitor, and inductor. That in itself is worthy of heavy acclimates. Specifically, memristor is a technology that can be used as computer memory that can retain its memory even when power is lost. Memristor technology also uses less power than Flash memory, is faster than current Flash memory, stores twice the data in the same size unit as Flash memory, it claims to be unaffected by radiation, and since they don't lose their memory at power loss, they can potentially turn a computer on instantly bringing you back to where you left when you turned it off - traditionally speaking, no boot up!.

OK THAT'S COOL, BUT THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY: Here is why I compared memristor technology, potentially, to the invention of the computer chip. Memristor not only stores more data, faster, using less power and without power, but get this - it can do its own calculations! Yes, it can process data by itself - no CPU needed! The future of memristor technology is that it will be memory AND a processor in one.

LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT A SECOND: Currently a computer or Smartphone, etc., has memory (RAM/ROM) and a CPU. Stepping outside the box, envision a computer that rather has multiple memristor’s in place of RAM/ROM and CPU.

1. You turn your computer off by hitting a button in the middle of creating your word document and the computer instantly shuts off like a light --- 2 days later, you come back, turn your computer on, and it turns on as quick as a light and your courser is still blinking right where you left off on the word document. Turning off your memristor driven computer could be as quick as turning just your monitor off with today's technology.
2. Let's say you are a doing a digital forensics exam on a computer. Data recovery is traditionally limited to two areas, the hard drive and the RAM (regardless of the type of device). With memristor, you could potentially have a processor and memory (all in one) dedicated to just email, another for just web browsing, another just for video, another just for handling the operating system. How will that affect your forensic examination?
3. Another digital forensics exam scenario. Since memristor technology can perform logic, potentially the user could specify what memristor chip handles each individual program or function. With this scenario, there would be no uniform structure for where data is stored. You now potentially have to do a complete recovery on each memristor chip on the computer! You might say, ok, so we look in more places,,, not a major issue. But what about when the ‘clock is ticking’! Say you are looking for a missing child. In this case let say your S.O.P. is to quickly check chat logs and other messaging archives to find evidence of where the suspect might be holding the child. In today’s computing there is a standard location for chat logs and messaging archives - with memristor technology in the scenario I layed out in this example then standardization is out the window! “Triage Forensics” (for simplicity let’s define that as ‘quick digital forensics at the scene’) is no longer a ‘quick’ process since there is no uniform structure for where things are located.
4. Now let's add the cloud to the equation! You think finding the physical location of a file on a network store is difficult!? Try finding one email on a Windows Live or Google account that is using memristor chips on their servers - hundreds of them PER SERVER, with hundreds of servers spread across the world. And don't forget, in years to come how much more difficult do you think it will be to get a court order to seize email from a corporation as big as Google or Microsoft?

For the computer user, the sky (or "cloud") is the limit with memristor technology. The potential processing power that exists with memristor technology is game-changing. Think of having a 8-core processor with 16GB of RAM for EACH program on your computer, and small enough to put in your smart phone. The possibilities that this technology invites is beyond this article, and frankly, beyond the author!

For the digital forensics examiner, the verdict is still out on how memristor specifically will change procedures. However one thing is for certain. Memristor technology, whether it fully comes to fruition or not in the mainstream, is a reminder that traditional computing and data storage technology of today will not necessarily be that of tomorrow. Subsequently, procedures we use today for forensically recovering digital data may not be the same as those of tomorrow.

The “industry” of digital forensics is no different than any technology industry. There is always a chase by the professionals to stay on top of the technology. Ultimately, memristor technology is just a reminder for you the professional to stay “healthy” with your training because the chase will never end. Likewise, let us not forget “forensic technology” itself. Memristor should also be a reminder to companies who make data recovery/forensics products like EnCase, Device Seizure, Secure View, Shadow 2 and others that they too need to stay in the chase. The missing child needs us all!