Create and Mount an Encrypted Block Device Using dm-crypt

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Create and Mount an Encrypted Block Device Using dm-crypt

In this lab you will create an encrypted block device using `dm-crypt` and LUKS. Then you will open the encrypted device and create a filesystem on it. You are working as a System Administrator at a large financial institution and have been tasked with enabling whole-disk encryption on a portable drive. The portable drive is attached as `/dev/loop0` to the user's workstation, which is running the CentOS Linux 7.7 operating system.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Apr 06, 2025

Duration

15m

Challenge

Create an Encrypted Volume on the Target Device
Create an encrypted volume on the target device:
```
$ sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /loopbackfile.img
```

Challenge

Open the Encrypted Volume

Open the encrypted volume:

$ sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/loop0 encvol
$ ls /dev/mapper/ -l

Challenge

Create a Filesystem on the Encrypted Volume
Create a filesystem on the encrypted volume:
```
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/encvol
$ sudo mount /dev/mapper/encvol /mnt/
```
Challenge

Unmount the Filesystem and Close the Encrypted Volume
Unmount the filesystem and close the encrypted volume:
```
$ sudo umount /mnt/
$ sudo cryptsetup luksClose encvol
```

Challenge

Create a Keyfile and Add It to the Encrypted Volume

Create a keyfile and add it to the encrypted volume:

$ sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/root/lukskey bs=4096 count=1
$ sudo chmod 600 /root/lukskey
$ sudo cryptsetup luksAddKey /dev/loop0 /root/lukskey

Challenge

Open the Encrypted Volume Using the Keyfile and Mount the Filesystem
Open the encrypted volume using the keyfile and mount the filesystem:
```
sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/loop0 encvol --key-file /root/lukskey
sudo mount /dev/mapper/encvol /mnt/
```

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