Ubuntu
ubiquity package

  1. Bug #1842417
  2. Comment #0

Comment 0 for bug 1842417

Revision history for this message
Redsandro (redsandro) wrote : Consider reintroducing home encryption using fscrypt

Home encryption using ecryptfs was removed in Ubuntu 18.04 for reasons. Full disk encryption was recommended as an alternative.

Not everyone agrees that encrypting the entire disk is the best alternative. Some prefer a more lightweight solution. Others have families and like to share a laptop, perhaps even with an unprivileged guest account, and family members want to encrypt their home with a personal password.

For some, full disk encryption is unwanted because of reasons. Linux Mint 19, based on Ubuntu 18.04, re-introduced home encryption using ecryptfs because users wanted it.

Can we re-introduce home encryption, this time using fscrypt? Not only was this suggested (way prematurely) by the Ubuntu 18.04 release notes, it's also nearing completion with final patches scheduled for Kernel 5.4. It would be beneficial if we could get this as an option for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Resources:

Encrypted home with fscrypt
https://askubuntu.com/a/1031509/40475

Kernel patches for fs keyring
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/fs/fscrypt/fscrypt.git/log/

Key managemekt fixes in fscrypt tools
https://github.com/ebiggers/fscrypt/commits/fscrypt-key-mgmt-improvements