Online security basics: encryption (p.1)

Today we will talk about data encryption and its importance. In the modern world, encryption is the cornerstone of anonymity, security and safety of information.

From the point of view of analysts, data encryption is the only reasonable way to protect against data leaks from lost media. However, encryption requires not only “mobile” information, but also a lot of other data warehouses.

Transition to the use of cryptocontainers

In this article, let's talk about the practice of using encryption to protect data. If it is still difficult for you to perceive the word cryptocontainer, read instead of it “a securely encrypted password folder where you can store and edit files”. Cryptocontainer is a reliable safe inside your computer.

I will tell you about the beginning of the use of cryptocontainers, and you, based on my experience, configure the work of cryptocontainers on a computer or mobile device. Like many of you, my files were arranged in folders.

I always tried to clean up my computer: I had a “Work” folder with many subfolders, there was a “Learning” folder with educational materials, there were various folders with photos, videos and all sorts of rubbish. There was, of course, the folder XXX, prudently renamed “Lectures”.

The total file size was about 112 GB. In the transition to the use of cryptocontainers, I divided the files into three groups.

The first group includes files that are very valuable to me, but which I do not use every day. The second one contains important files that I use every day for work or study. The third one included all kind of rubbish, which I did not even think of somehow protecting and transferred to the cryptocontainer only for the sake of the general order. There is one general rule: the smaller your files in a crypto-container, the better from a security point of view. When you mount a cryptocontainer with ten files in it, you open access to all ten for one. Ideally, each file should have a separate cryptocontainer, but in practice it is an unrealizable utopia. When files are in an unmounted cryptocontainer, they are securely protected. Whether you get a Trojan on a computer or, having taken out the door, will carry out a forensic analysis - all this is useless with a strong password. Unless, of course, you do not issue it yourself, or it is not saved in your txt document on your desktop. We will describe in detail in the final paragraph about how to break into crypto containers.

I think it is worth explaining in more detail what a mounted cryptocontainer is. Imagine that a cryptocontainer is an encrypted password folder. You have entered a password and are using the files there, then you have closed the folder, and you need a password again to access the data. In a state where you have already entered a password, and access is open, a Trojan program that has fallen on your computer, or a third party who has gained access to the computer, has access to the files. This is called a mounted cryptocontainer, and the process of entering a password and opening access is a mount. A cryptocontainer can be compared to a safe. Safe is protected only when closed. In the open state, anyone can access its contents. Keeping things in an open safe is no safer than on the table next to it.

Tip: create as many crypto containers as possible. It is not safe to store all the data in a single cryptocontainer. Let's go back to my cryptocontainers. I created crypto containers, created a backup of the files (just in case) and transferred the files to the created crypto containers. All the chaos of folders and files on my hard disk was converted into three securely encrypted files. It's simple: you think about how many cryptocontainers you need, create them and transfer files to them. Transferring data to crypto containers is one of the most important steps on the way to building a secure system.

Tip: keep all information only in cryptocontainers. Cryptocontainer has another advantage. For example, you need to urgently destroy your data, occupying 100 GB of hard disk. How long will it take to remove them in a safe way? Depending on the capacity of the hard disk, this may take up to 30 minutes.

And if these 100 GB are in a cryptocontainer, then using CryptoCrash technology, you can destroy data in a few seconds. In the following paragraphs, we will introduce you to programs that allow you to create and use cryptocontainers.