I am currently writing an essay and one part is a discussion about the effects o

Question

I am currently writing an essay and one part is a discussion about the effects of encryption on an Operating System/Computer/Infrastructure in general.

However, I am struggling to see how a computer would be affected by encryption, whether it be full disk encryption or container based, beyond the performance of the system degrading slightly.

I am writing this in reference to encryption using software like TrueCrypt.

There does not seem to be any other kind of impact on the system itself. Most papers and articles all seem to point to and focus on the performance aspect.

Am I missing something obvious?

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Explanation / Answer

There are several major impacts, not all of them relevant to all users.

- Performance (based on throughput, i.e. MB/s - the more data you're moving in a given timeframe, the more encryption has to happen in that timeframe - when the encryption can no longer keep up, your data moves more slowly); if you use symmetric AES encryption with software that uses AES-NI instructions on a CPU with AES-NI instructions, this is more or less negligible even at GB/s rates.
- Data loss risk: Any sector going bad on an unencrypted disk leaves the rest of the data available. On an encrypted system, if that sector contains your key, and the encryption was done properly, you just lost all your data unless you have a backup of your key.
- So have a backup of your key!!!
and keep it secure!!!
- This is highly desirable for fast easy disk wipes.
-Certain backup factors - if you use liveCD/USB versions of drive image software like Paragon, - Acronis, Ghost, etc., then that software can no longer do a normal, compressed, filesystem-aware backup. It must do a sector-by-sector image of the entire hard drive, since with good encryption, the "free space" is encrypted as well.
Partition management - just like with backups, liveCD/USB versions of GParted or Partition Magic can no longer modify the size of your partitions, since it can't move data around within your filesystem.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.