Create and Mount an Encrypted Filesystem Using eCryptFS

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Create and Mount an Encrypted Filesystem Using eCryptFS

In this lab you will create an encrypted directory using eCryptfs. Next, you will "mount" the directory in order to access files stored there. You are working as a System Administrator at a large financial institution and have been tasked with creating an encrypted directory using eCryptfs on a user's workstation running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15. You will need to log into the remote workstation and complete the following tasks to accomplish this: 1. Confirm the kernel module. 2. Install ecryptfs packages. 3. Add a passphrase to kernel keyring. 4. Create directories. 5. Mount the filesystem.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Apr 06, 2025

Duration

15m

Challenge

Confirm the Kernel Module
Confirm the kernel module:
```
sudo modprobe ecryptfs
```
Challenge

Install eCryptfs Packages
Install eCryptfs packages using zypper command on SUSE:
```
$ sudo zypper install ecryptfs-utils
```
Challenge

Add Passphrase to Kernel Keyring
Add a passphrase to kernel keyring. Be sure to save the key signature, as it will be required when mounting the filesystem:
```
$ ecryptfs-add-passphrase
$ export KSIG=
```
Challenge

Create Directories
For encrypted data:
```
$ mkdir secret-enc 
```
For decrypted data:
```
$ mkdir secret
```

Challenge

Mount the Filesystem

Confirm the environment variable $KSIG was properly set from ecryptfs-add-passphrase in previous step:

$ echo $KSIG
$ sudo mount -i -t ecryptfs secret-enc/ secret/ -o ecryptfs_sig=$KSIG,ecryptfs_fnek_sig=$KSIG,ecryptfs_cipher=aes,ecryptfs_key_bytes=32,ecryptfs_unlink_sigs

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