Workshop: Encrypting hard disks with DM-Crypt and LUKS
THE WHOLE DISK
Encrypting a home directory is easy. Encrypting your whole hard disk – including the root filesystem – takes a little more effort.
Encrypting individual filesystems is no big deal; in fact, some distributions allow you to encrypt directories as part of the installation routine. But encrypting the home directory on your laptop is a job half done. Dishonest finders can still draw conclusions from log and configuration files. If you’re serious about providing security through encryption, you need to protect the whole hard disk against spying – something that no distribution can do out of the box. Things start to become more complex if you need to protect the root filesystem. Neither Suse nor Debian Linux give users a tool to help encrypt the root filesystem during the install (or later). That means you’ll need to roll up your shirt sleeves for some hands-on configuration
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
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 Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.