19.14. Encrypting Disk Partitions
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## 19.14. Encrypting Disk Partitions

Contributed by Lucky Green.

FreeBSD offers excellent online protections against unauthorized data access. File permissions and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) help prevent unauthorized users from accessing data while the operating system is active and the computer is powered up. However, the permissions enforced by the operating system are irrelevant if an attacker has physical access to a computer and can move the computer's hard drive to another system to copy and analyze the data.

Regardless of how an attacker may have come into possession of a hard drive or powered-down computer, both the GEOM Based Disk Encryption (`gbde`) and `geli` cryptographic subsystems in FreeBSD are able to protect the data on the computer's file systems against even highly-motivated attackers with significant resources. Unlike cumbersome encryption methods that encrypt only individual files, `gbde` and `geli` transparently encrypt entire file systems. No cleartext ever touches the hard drive's platter.

### 19.14.1. Disk Encryption with gbde

1. Configuring gbde requires superuser privileges.

   `%` `su -` Password:

2. If using a custom kernel configuration file, ensure it contains this line:

   `options GEOM_BDE`

   If the kernel already contains this support, use `kldload` to load gbde(4):

   `#` `kldload geom_bde`

#### 19.14.1.1. Preparing the Encrypted Hard Drive

The following example demonstrates adding a new hard drive to a system that will hold a single encrypted partition. This partition will be mounted as `/private`. gbde can also be used to encrypt `/home` and `/var/mail`, but this requires more complex instructions which exceed the scope of this introduction.

1. Add the New Hard Drive

   Install the new drive to the system as explained in Section 19.3, “Adding Disks”. For the purposes of this example, a new hard drive partition has been added as `/dev/ad4s1c` and `/dev/ad0s1`*`` represents the existing standard FreeBSD partitions.

   `#` `ls /dev/ad*` /dev/ad0 /dev/ad0s1b /dev/ad0s1e /dev/ad4s1 /dev/ad0s1 /dev/ad0s1c /dev/ad0s1f /dev/ad4s1c /dev/ad0s1a /dev/ad0s1d /dev/ad4

2. Create a Directory to Hold `gbde` Lock Files

   `#` `mkdir /etc/gbde`

   The gbde lock file contains information that gbde requires to access encrypted partitions. Without access to the lock file, gbde will not be able to decrypt the data contained in the encrypted partition without significant manual intervention which is not supported by the software. Each encrypted partition uses a separate lock file.

3. Initialize the `gbde` Partition

   A gbde partition must be initialized before it can be used. This initialization needs to be performed only once:

   `#` `gbde init /dev/ad4s1c -i -L /etc/gbde/ad4s1c.lock`

   gbde(8) will open the default editor, in order to set various configuration options in a template. For use with UFS1 or UFS2, set the sector_size to 2048:

   # $FreeBSD: src/sbin/gbde/template.txt,v 1.1.36.1 2009/08/03 08:13:06 kensmith Exp $ # # Sector size is the smallest unit of data which can be read or written. # Making it too small decreases performance and decreases available space. # Making it too large may prevent filesystems from working. 512 is the # minimum and always safe. For UFS, use the fragment size # sector_size = 2048 [...]

   gbde(8) will ask the user twice to type the passphrase used to secure the data. The passphrase must be the same both times. The ability of gbde to protect data depends entirely on the quality of the passphrase. For tips on how to select a secure passphrase that is easy to remember, see the Diceware Passphrase website.

   `gbde init`creates a lock file for the gbde partition. In this example, it is stored as `/etc/gbde/ad4s1c.lock`. gbde lock files must end in “.lock” in order to be correctly detected by the `/etc/rc.d/gbde` start up script.

   ### Caution:

   gbde lock files must be backed up together with the contents of any encrypted partitions. While deleting a lock file alone cannot prevent a determined attacker from decrypting a gbde partition, without the lock file, the legitimate owner will be unable to access the data on the encrypted partition without a significant amount of work that is totally unsupported by gbde(8).

4. Attach the Encrypted Partition to the Kernel

   `#` `gbde attach /dev/ad4s1c -l /etc/gbde/ad4s1c.lock`

   This command will prompt to input the passphrase that was selected during the initialization of the encrypted partition. The new encrypted device will appear in `/dev` as `/dev/device_name.bde`:

   `#` `ls /dev/ad*` /dev/ad0 /dev/ad0s1b /dev/ad0s1e /dev/ad4s1 /dev/ad0s1 /dev/ad0s1c /dev/ad0s1f /dev/ad4s1c /dev/ad0s1a /dev/ad0s1d /dev/ad4 /dev/ad4s1c.bde

5. Create a File System on the Encrypted Device

   Once the encrypted device has been attached to the kernel, a file system can be created on the device using newfs(8). This example creates a UFS2 file system with soft updates enabled.

   `#` `newfs -U /dev/ad4s1c.bde`

   ### Note:

   newfs(8) must be performed on an attached gbde partition which is identified by a ``*`.bde` extension to the device name.

6. Mount the Encrypted Partition

   Create a mount point for the encrypted file system:

   `#` `mkdir /private`

   Mount the encrypted file system:

   `#` `mount /dev/ad4s1c.bde /private`

7. Verify That the Encrypted File System is Available

   The encrypted file system should now be visible to df(1) and be available for use.

   `%` `df -H` Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/ad0s1a 1037M 72M 883M 8% / /devfs 1.0K 1.0K 0B 100% /dev /dev/ad0s1f 8.1G 55K 7.5G 0% /home /dev/ad0s1e 1037M 1.1M 953M 0% /tmp /dev/ad0s1d 6.1G 1.9G 3.7G 35% /usr /dev/ad4s1c.bde 150G 4.1K 138G 0% /private

#### 19.14.1.2. Mounting Existing Encrypted File Systems

After each boot, any encrypted file systems must be re-attached to the kernel, checked for errors, and mounted, before the file systems can be used. The required commands must be executed as `root`.

1. Attach the `gbde` Partition to the Kernel

   `#` `gbde attach /dev/ad4s1c -l /etc/gbde/ad4s1c.lock`

   This command will prompt for the passphrase that was selected during initialization of the encrypted gbde partition.

2. Check the File System for Errors

   Since encrypted file systems cannot yet be listed in `/etc/fstab` for automatic mounting, the file systems must be checked for errors by running fsck(8) manually before mounting:

   `#` `fsck -p -t ffs /dev/ad4s1c.bde`

3. Mount the Encrypted File System

   `#` `mount /dev/ad4s1c.bde /private`

   The encrypted file system is now available for use.

##### 19.14.1.2.1. Automatically Mounting Encrypted Partitions

It is possible to create a script to automatically attach, check, and mount an encrypted partition, but for security reasons the script should not contain the gbde(8) password. Instead, it is recommended that such scripts be run manually while providing the password via the console or ssh(1).

As an alternative, an `rc.d` script is provided. Arguments for this script can be passed via rc.conf(5):

gbde_autoattach_all="YES" gbde_devices="ad4s1c" gbde_lockdir="/etc/gbde"

This requires that the gbde passphrase be entered at boot time. After typing the correct passphrase, the gbde encrypted partition will be mounted automatically. This can be useful when using gbde on laptops.

#### 19.14.1.3. Cryptographic Protections Employed by `gbde`

gbde(8) encrypts the sector payload using 128-bit AES in CBC mode. Each sector on the disk is encrypted with a different AES key. For more information on the cryptographic design, including how the sector keys are derived from the user-supplied passphrase, refer to gbde(4).

#### 19.14.1.4. Compatibility Issues

sysinstall(8) is incompatible with gbde-encrypted devices. All ``*`.bde` devices must be detached from the kernel before starting sysinstall(8) or it will crash during its initial probing for devices. To detach the encrypted device used in the example, use the following command:

`#` `gbde detach /dev/ad4s1c`

Also, since vinum(4) does not use the geom(4) subsystem, gbde can not be used with vinum volumes.

### 19.14.2. Disk Encryption with `geli`

Contributed by Daniel Gerzo.

An alternative cryptographic GEOM class is available through geli(8). `geli` differs from `gbde`; offers different features, and uses a different scheme for doing cryptographic work.

geli(8) provides the following features:

- Utilizes the crypto(9) framework and, when cryptographic hardware is available, `geli` uses it automatically.

- Supports multiple cryptographic algorithms such as AES, Blowfish, and 3DES.

- Allows the root partition to be encrypted. The passphrase used to access the encrypted root partition will be requested during system boot.

- Allows the use of two independent keys such as a “key” and a “company key”.

- `geli` is fast as it performs simple sector-to-sector encryption.

- Allows backup and restore of master keys. If a user destroys their keys, it is still possible to get access to the data by restoring keys from the backup.

- Allows a disk to attach with a random, one-time key which is useful for swap partitions and temporary file systems.

More `geli` features can be found in geli(8).

This section describes how to enable support for `geli` in the FreeBSD kernel and explains how to create and use a `geli` encryption provider.

Superuser privileges are required since modifications to the kernel are necessary.

1. Adding `geli` Support to the Kernel

   For a custom kernel, ensure the kernel configuration file contains these lines:

   options GEOM_ELI device crypto

   Alternatively, the `geli` module can be loaded at boot time by adding the following line to `/boot/loader.conf`:

   geom_eli_load="YES"

   geli(8) should now be supported by the kernel.

2. Generating the Master Key

   The following example describes how to generate a key file which will be used as part of the master key for the encrypted provider mounted under `/private`. The key file will provide some random data used to encrypt the master key. The master key will also be protected by a passphrase. The provider's sector size will be 4kB. The example will describe how to attach to the `geli` provider, create a file system on it, mount it, work with it, and finally, how to detach it.

   It is recommended to use a bigger sector size, such as 4kB, for better performance.

   The master key will be protected with a passphrase and the data source for the key file will be `/dev/random`. The sector size of the provider `/dev/da2.eli` will be 4kB.

   `#` `dd if=/dev/random of=/root/da2.key bs=64 count=1` `#` `geli init -s 4096 -K /root/da2.key /dev/da2` Enter new passphrase: Reenter new passphrase:

   It is not mandatory to use both a passphrase and a key file as either method of securing the master key can be used in isolation.

   If the key file is given as “-”, standard input will be used. This example shows how more than one key file can be used:

   `#` `cat keyfile1 keyfile2 keyfile3 | geli init -K - /dev/da2`

3. Attaching the Provider with the Generated Key

   `#` `geli attach -k /root/da2.key /dev/da2` Enter passphrase:

   The new plaintext device will be named `/dev/`da2`.eli`.

   `#` `ls /dev/da2*` /dev/da2 /dev/da2.eli

4. Creating the New File System

   `#` `dd if=/dev/random of=/dev/da2.eli bs=1m` `#` `newfs /dev/da2.eli` `#` `mount /dev/da2.eli /private`

   The encrypted file system should now be visible to df(1) and be available for use:

   `#` `df -H` Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/ad0s1a 248M 89M 139M 38% / /devfs 1.0K 1.0K 0B 100% /dev /dev/ad0s1f 7.7G 2.3G 4.9G 32% /usr /dev/ad0s1d 989M 1.5M 909M 0% /tmp /dev/ad0s1e 3.9G 1.3G 2.3G 35% /var /dev/da2.eli 150G 4.1K 138G 0% /private

5. Unmounting and Detaching the Provider

   Once the work on the encrypted partition is done, and the `/private` partition is no longer needed, it is prudent to consider unmounting and detaching the `geli` encrypted partition from the kernel:

   `#` `umount /private` `#` `geli detach da2.eli`

More information about the use of geli(8) can be found in its manual page.

#### 19.14.2.1. Using the `geli` `rc.d` Script

`geli` comes with a `rc.d` script which can be used to simplify the usage of `geli`. An example of configuring `geli` through rc.conf(5) follows:

geli_devices="da2" geli_da2_flags="-p -k /root/da2.key"

This configures `/dev/da2` as a `geli` provider of which the master key file is located in `/root/da2.key`. `geli` will not use a passphrase when attaching to the provider if `-P` was given during the `geli init` phase. The system will detach the `geli` provider from the kernel before the system shuts down.

More information about configuring `rc.d` is provided in the rc.d section of the Handbook.

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