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Ask HN: What Do You Use for Linux Full Disk Crypto?

44 pointsby otterwwwabout 6 years ago
What do you use to manage Linux full disk encryption centrally (like BitLocker and FileVault let you do)?<p>I know you can do FDE with LUKS but would prefer a more enterprise solution where I can store a recovery key centrally that a user can’t remove.

16 comments

majewskyabout 6 years ago
What problem are you trying to prevent?<p>- A novice user fatfingering `cryptsetup luksRemoveKey`? Sounds extremely unlikely.<p>- A determined user trying to deliberately destroy information? A lot of things are easier, e.g. `dd if=&#x2F;dev&#x2F;zero of=&#x2F;dev&#x2F;sda` to `shred important_document.pdf`.<p>The only thing that would protect against most accidental-destruction scenarios is not giving the users root access, and then you don&#x27;t have to worry about users removing LUKS keys anyway.
8fingerlouieabout 6 years ago
I&#x27;m using LUKS, with disks being mounted with crypttab.<p>The keys for the drives are stored on an encrypted USB key, and the key for the encrypted USB key is stored on the root SSD.<p>I wanted something where i could boot unattended, and at the same time i wanted the possibility to destroy the keys and render the disks useless.<p>I have an encrypted backup of the keys, stored outside of the encrypted disk arrays.
mrkeenabout 6 years ago
During installation, I tick the box that says &#x27;full disk encryption&#x27;.
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emergieabout 6 years ago
&gt;what do you use<p>luks<p>&gt;what do you use to manage<p>cryptsetup<p>&gt;prefer a more enterprise solution...<p>You have exotic needs, I doubt there is any open source solution that fits, you have to write your own.<p>You can start by reading this arch page: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wiki.archlinux.org&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;dm-crypt&#x2F;System_configuration" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wiki.archlinux.org&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;dm-crypt&#x2F;System_configu...</a>
rb666about 6 years ago
(very soon) ZFS! It&#x27;s happening: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;zfsonlinux&#x2F;zfs&#x2F;releases" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;zfsonlinux&#x2F;zfs&#x2F;releases</a><p>The PR started 3 years ago: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;zfsonlinux&#x2F;zfs&#x2F;pull&#x2F;4329" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;zfsonlinux&#x2F;zfs&#x2F;pull&#x2F;4329</a>
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Leaceabout 6 years ago
LUKS with TPM2-backed key: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;electrickite&#x2F;luks-tpm2" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;electrickite&#x2F;luks-tpm2</a>
rwmjabout 6 years ago
LUKS + Clevis and Tang does all that you want. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.admin-magazine.com&#x2F;Archive&#x2F;2018&#x2F;43&#x2F;Automatic-data-encryption-and-decryption-with-Clevis-and-Tang" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.admin-magazine.com&#x2F;Archive&#x2F;2018&#x2F;43&#x2F;Automatic-data...</a> There&#x27;s no way to prevent a determined user with root access from removing a key, except maybe some kind of locked down trusted boot scenario which will undoubtedly create more problems than it solves.
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xorcistabout 6 years ago
LUKS can use a central recovery key.<p>Regular users can&#x27;t mess with LUKS settings.
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girzelabout 6 years ago
I have a yubikey, and this[0] tutorial has been open in a browser tab for I swear four months or more. I just haven&#x27;t summoned the guts to do it -- a voice in my head keeps whispering &quot;you&#x27;ll brick your laptop, you&#x27;ll brick your laptop...&quot;<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;agherzan&#x2F;yubikey-full-disk-encryption" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;agherzan&#x2F;yubikey-full-disk-encryption</a>
rcaabout 6 years ago
You can probably use luksHeaderBackup and luksHeaderRestore to make sure your recovery key will always work with the volume. Although I&#x27;ve never tried it so don&#x27;t take my word for it, it should be pretty easy for you to try out.<p>Not that it will prevent any dedicated user with root rights from locking you out of the data if they wish to. It just raises friction from a simple luksRemoveKey
gpetrosyanabout 6 years ago
This article gives a good overview of the options and potential threats: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.whonix.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Full_Disk_Encryption_and_Encrypted_Images" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.whonix.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Full_Disk_Encryption_and_Encrypt...</a><p>Use whonix itself and read the privacy guides in its wiki if you are concerned with privacy beyond FDE.
jason_slackabout 6 years ago
Actually, this poses a question. I have disk encryption enabled on my laptop.<p>Now I want to put in a larger hard drive and clone the current drive on to it. Without disk encryption I could use clonezilla or other tools. With disk encryption enabled I can&#x27;t seem to do anything to clone.<p>What is a solution?
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jstanleyabout 6 years ago
In the past I have used LUKS and simply stored a copy of the passphrase centrally. Not very &quot;enterprise&quot; though.<p>A user who wants to destroy data can do so regardless. Storing a key centrally only guards against accidental loss of the key.
craftomanabout 6 years ago
I&#x27;m using Debian with full disk encryption using the help of Debian Installer. Such a great tool, during installation and setup sometimes you might get confused when messing up with physical and encrypted partitions.
Daniel_skabout 6 years ago
I wish it was so easy as on MacOS or Windows - where you can essentially turn it on with one button. I don&#x27;t think enabling encryption on an existing installation of Linux can be done without reinstalling or a lot of work.
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converyabout 6 years ago
Usually just Veracrypt since I can use it on Windows as well..