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vgough / encfs

EncFS: an Encrypted Filesystem for FUSE.
https://vgough.github.io/encfs/
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Reconstruct configuration file #615

Open skymoo opened 4 years ago

skymoo commented 4 years ago

I was using encfs to backup some files to a cloud service. I mounted encfs using:

encfs --reverse /path/to/local/data /path/to/encrypted/data

I then synced the encrypted data to my cloud service. I had copies of the local unencrypted data on a local disk and my local NAS. In a very unfortunate turn of events both my NAS and the local disk failed at exactly the same time so the only copy of the files I have is the encrypted files on the cloud storage. I've synced these down to my system and am trying to get access to the unencrypted data again. I know the password that was used to encrypt this, is there a way to reconstruct the configuration to regain access to these files again? Or are they lost?

TimFW commented 3 years ago

So you separated the config xml file from the directory for cloud security. Had it in clear txt on your local machine. Then you had corruption catastrophic failure of both original encrypted directory and the clear txt copy of the xml config file.

If that is correct no there is no way to recreate it. It has the same basic result of separating the luks header from the volume and then losing the header. The only real viable way to recover depending on the value of the data is a data recovery service to attempt to pull the file or directory from one of the failed drives.

Hind-sight is always convenient to see what SHOULD have been done. Obviously keeping more than one backup of the clear txt config file. It of course does not have to be stored in the clear per say. Optical media cd/dvd, while no longer in vogue, are cheap insurance. Also flash drives are not ideal for long term archiving. Seen way too many people/companies burned by this. Even in the current trend doing away with physical av media it is still a gold standard for long term storage without cycling. Keep it from physical impact and high heat damage and it lasts indefinitely. No other current media can boast that. Consumer flash drives (mlc tlc) being one of the worst for long term reliability.