Hi! I want to try out fedora workstation in the near future (once 39 is out) and was wondering if systemd-homed is ready for everyday use yet.
I’m a bit paranoid and really need my private data encrypted. However, I don’t think that full disk encryption is practical for my daily use. Therefore I was really looking forward to the encryption possibilities of systemd-homed.
However, after reading up on it, I was a bit discouraged. AFAIK, there’s no option to setup systemd-homed at installation (of fedora). I was an Arch then Manjaro, then Endeavour user for years but don’t have the time/patience anymore to configure major parrts of my system anymore. Also, the documentation doesn’t seem too noob-friendly to me, which also plays into the time/patience argument.
Is it ready? Can anyone seriously recommend it for a lazy ex-Arch user who doesn’t want to break another linux installation?
Thank you in advance. :)
Simple convenience. I usually don’t have the time to wait one or two minutes until my full disk is decrypted (I am often late and the only person in a group meeting who brought a laptop for taking minutes).
I also use a weird keyboard layout (Neo 2) and I never got grub to load with that layout. Typing a 40+ passphrase in QWRETZ is just cumbersome to me.
Also: I hate to admit it, but I am a bit vain and simply would like a nice gui for entering my password.
Edit: I forgot to add that I’m playing with the idea of getting a surface tablet and installing linux on it. Then I couldn’t count on awlays having a usb keyboard with me.
You can setup FDE that utilizes TPM like Windows does with bitlocker, in such a way that your backup phrase is only necessary if something about your hardware changes.
Last I set it up however, there wasn’t any easy/automatic way. Searching “luks TPM” should get you started.
I’ve been using this guide for ages.
https://fedoramagazine.org/automatically-decrypt-your-disk-using-tpm2/
I need more than data security at rest. Reading out the keys from ram is well within my threat model.
In that case systemd won’t help you either.
Care to elaborate why? I thought that systemd can encrypt your home partition when locking your device.
When locking the device sure, but you could achieve a higher level of security by turning off the machine, or using hibernate with encrypted swap. Boot on my machine with FDE and an NVME sad literally takes seconds anyway…
Haha are you serious? In that case nothing short of full disk encryption and secure boot with your own keys is remotely adequate. Do you realize, that just encrypting your /home is at most a mild obscurity measure? If an attacker has potentially access to your computer and parts of it are unencrypted or unsigned, they could easily install a keylogger that sends out your data and/or password the next time you use your computer?!
If your situation is not just a psychological case of paranoia, but a real threat, then you absolutely need to work on your security knowledge a good amount!
I don’t really hppreciate your tone. Could you be a little less of a dick, please?
Keyloggers aren’t in my threat model (i.e.: they aren’t in the MO of my potential attackers).
I have a LUKS-encrypted laptop (1GB SSD), it takes about 10 seconds between typing in the password and the start of the boot process.
Good for you. I have the same setup and it feels too slow to me.
Would a FDE with FIDO2 hardware key meet your needs?
I don’t think so. There’s a high likelihood of both laptop and key ending in the same hands if the laptop is stolen.
The concept of hardware key is precisely to be removed as soon as you are not in front of the device.
In my case, I’m using one this way. It is tethered to myself with a metal chain, so as soon as I’m not in front of my computer, they are separated and my sensitive data protected. Of course it won’t prevent someone from threatening to harm me in order to get access to said key, but he might as well do the same to get access to any kind of password.
Keys can be confiscated. But in most juristicions you can’t legally be forced to give up a password.
Please take the threat modelling of other people seriously without second guessing it. If people explain openly why they have a certain threat model, I might already give them away to potential attackers.
Unfortunately I’m in one of those jurisdiction where you have to give password if asked by a competent authority (France). If confiscation during transit is a threat in any place I go, my FIDO2 key take another route than I do.
That wouldn’t help if they search your home.
I’m appalled that France is already so anti-privacy. But unfortunately, I can’t say that I’m surprised.
There is privacy and privacy.
If the authorities ask you for your password to unlock a device for a valid reason, it is legitimate for them to be able to force you to reveal your password. Even taking it into account, you can refuse, but you’ll be fined for it.
Those access are logged, and pretty limited if they want to use it as proof against you later. Even if they find something damning against you, if the procedure isn’t respected, they cannot use it against you.
I don’t know why you need such tight security that it has to protect against legitimate law enforcement, but if they really want to get to your data, you can trust me, no amount of TPM, security keys and the like will prevent them to lock you up untill you give them your keys.
Except if you cannot, in which case a removable hardware key which do not stay with you unless you are actively use it is the only solution. Most of them have passkeys to prevent them to be used if stolen.
“Legitimacy” is in the eyes of the beholder. There are precedents of activism being criminalized to a ridiculous degree.
Also, decrypted data could jeopardize someone else. Especially in activist groups, this is a risk.