Burning CDs and DVDS with an encrypted filesystem
BATTENING DOWN THE DISKS
An encrypted hard disk on your server is no help if valuable data on CDs or DVDs falls into the hands of spies. We’ll show you some convenient solutions for encrypting data on removable media.
You may already store sensitive data in an encrypted area of your hard disk – and if you haven’t so far, you might start after reading this issue of Linux Magazine. If you use your data on the road, you might store a snapshot on a CD or copy your files to a USB stick. But you should be concerned about the risk of carrying around copies of your data. USB sticks are used just like external hard disks, so protecting a USB stick with encryption is easy. Encrypting CDs and DVDs is more difficult, but you do have some options. This article explores a pair of useful techniques for putting encrypted data on a CD or DVD. Options The simplest way to put encrypted data on a CD is to use GPG or a similar tool to individually encrypt the files and then store the results on the CD. This approach is fine for many applications, and it provides adequate security, but the risks become apparent on closer inspection. A user might manually decrypt the file and temporarily store the cleartext on a writable medium.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.