Re: [gentoo-hardened] Hardened laptops

[Norman B. Robinson]

Worth is a subjective term; what are your goals? :p I'm sure there could 
be performance differences, but I go back to the 'multiple levels' concept.

Can you clarify the differences between encrypted home directory vs. 
encrypted root filesystems in your mind? Do you really mean encrypting 
ONLY home directories vs. encrypting ALL partitions? Just wanted to be 
certain.

[1] A /tmp encrypted filesystem isn't any different than any other 
encrypted file - is it? You can have a encrypted partition that multiple 
users can mount with their token key. Such as done with  'example 5' of 
loop-aes (http://loop-aes.sourceforge.net/loop-AES.README)
[2] I'd also like to mention enough memory and NOT USING SWAP at all.
[3] If you have a scenario where you are a user that doesn't trust the 
system and want a chance at keeping YOUR data out of prying eyes the the 
per-user temporary directories could be of use.

Finally my other thoughts are that since *my* goal is to be *more* 
secure and not set the goal I will be absolutely secure; something as 
simple as ensuring all your temp files (or unencrypted volumes) are 
deleted and wiped clean during logout (if you own the machine) could be 
worth it. Yes, it may be unsecure during operation and it could be 
interrupted before the shutdown wipe. But not most of the time.

N.

mike@××××.org wrote:

> I haven't seen anything directly like this on the gentoo-hardened list
>
>>yet. I have seen the loopback encrypted filesystems and distro
>>discussions (nothing that isn't in the archives).
>>
>>
>
>Norman, you brought up some great points.  I am familiar with TEMPEST, but am
>not far enough into this to start trying to mitigate its risk yet.
>
>I now have a few questions about the encrypted home directory scenario (most of
>root filesystem is plaintext).  Basically, is it worth it vs. an encrypted root
>filesystem?  Besides encrypting swap, one sticky point is encrypting /tmp.  Here
>are a few potential solutions:
>
>1.  Make /tmp an encrypted filesystem, generated at boot time with a random key
>(much like encrypted swap space).
>
>2.  If you have enough memory and/or encrypted swap, use Linux's tmpfs.
>
>3.  Implement per-user temporary directories in each user's encrypted $HOME.
>Obviously all applications must know to use $HOME/tmp instead of /tmp.  This may
>be difficult to ensure.
>
>Plain text /tmp is of course bad because, for example, vi may leak secrets by
>creating recovery files there.  So what is the best solution?  Or are there too
>many potential loopholes when using encrypted home directories vs. encrypted
>root filesystem?
>
>--
>Mike
>
>
>--
>gentoo-hardened@g.o mailing list
>
>
>


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