Encrypted drives and sharing

numbers1thru9

I have a debian server that I use as a file server that has a large volume on it for storage. Id like to encrypt that drive to protect it. Since it is a file server, I access it via ssh, scp, and samba. Is there a way to encrypt the drive and still be able to share it over the network? Something that if I just connect via samba it authenticates and decrypts the data for my use?

Keith

You can encrypt a partition with TrueCrypt under Linux, export it over your network with samba, and mount it with a bit of hackery.

Or the alternative route (less portable) is to create a container and use FreeOTFE to mount it.

See also Free OTFE versus TrueCrypt and infoAnarchy wiki on Hard Disk Encryption.

Please remember that once a container or partition is mounted the data is in plain text. Use a VPN to keep your data private over the network.

Keep backups of your data before doing anything mentioned here because you will inevitably forget a passphrase or run into corruption issues down the road.