Linux Security Fundamentals by David Clinton

Author:David Clinton [Clinton, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119781561
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2020-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

Encryption Usage Patterns

Encrypting data as it’s being sent between remote computers is going to be the subject of the next chapter. Here’s where we’re going to mostly focus on applying the principles of encryption to the task of securing data at rest. We’ll also explore hashing, an alternative to encryption, and take a quick look at the encryption-heavy topic of blockchains.

What Should You Encrypt?

You have some tough choices to make. You’ll need to balance convenience against security and one potential risk against another. On the one hand, working with encrypted data drives can limit the scope of what you can do with them. Recovering data from a nonbooting drive that’s encrypted, for instance, will sometimes be impossible and will certainly be more difficult. But, on the other hand, the costs associated with the theft of your unencrypted data can be significantly higher. Here are some scenarios that make particularly strong candidates for encryption:

Devices, like laptops or smartphones, that are at high risk of theft or loss

Devices that are likely to contain sensitive data. A smartphone that isn’t used for banking and isn’t logged into a high-use online account might be one example of low risk. The general rule: if losing it would be annoying, don’t bother encrypting. If losing it would be a catastrophe, encrypt.

File systems within a larger drive containing sensitive data. If your drive is divided into multiple disk partitions, you’ll probably only need to encrypt the specific partitions where key data will live. Leaving the OS and, perhaps, logs unencrypted can at least expand your options in the event of a failure.

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