NAND flash memory is a non-volatile storage technology used in SSDs, USB drives, mobile devices, and data-center storage arrays. Unlike DRAM, it keeps data when power is removed. It stores bits in floating-gate or charge-trap cells, and controllers manage wear leveling, error correction, and bad-block handling because flash cells have limited write endurance.
In cyber security, NAND matters because it often holds operating systems, logs, virtual machine images, backups, and sensitive data at rest. Attackers may try to steal drives, extract data from discarded media, abuse weak encryption, or encrypt flash-backed systems during ransomware attacks. Defenders protect NAND-based storage with full-disk encryption, secure erase procedures, signed firmware, access controls, and redundancy. Because SSD behavior depends on the controller as much as the memory itself, storage firmware and configuration are also security-relevant attack surfaces.