Saat menggunakan komputer, semua data yang dimanipulasi ditulis untuk sementara di RAM: teks, file yang disimpan, tetapi juga kata sandi dan kunci enkripsi. Semakin baru aktifitasnya, semakin besar kemungkinan data tersebut untuk tetap ada di RAM.

After a computer is powered off, the data in RAM disappears rapidly, but it can remain in RAM up to several minutes after shutdown. An attacker having access to a computer before the data in RAM disappears completely could recover important data from your session.

This can be achieved using a technique called cold boot attack. To prevent such attacks, the data in RAM is overwritten by random data when you shut down Tails.

Bahkan, seorang penyerang dengan akses fisik ke komputer ketika Tails sedang berjalan dapat memulihkan data dari RAM juda. Untuk mencegah hal tersebut, pelajari beberapa metode berbeda untuk menutup Tails dengan cepat.

As far as we know, cold boot attacks are not a common procedure for data recovery.

In a research report from 2011, Defense Research and Development Canada concluded that cold boot attacks can be useful in some cases to acquire data in memory but are not a panacea and have many drawbacks dictated by the laws of physics, which cannot be overcome by the technique. The authors recommend to only use cold boot attacks as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted.