6 ms·

If you can read something, you can copy it.

• tytso 13y ago
  Sure, but why isn't all data encrypted at rest? And access to the keys heavily logged? There are ways to allow sysadmins access to backup, and repair file systems, and yet still not have any access to the (plaintext) data stored on those systems. Sure, eventually the key server (whether it's Kerberos style or X509 certificate style) is going to be something where a single trusted individual can do great harm (if by no other means than by checking in some obfuscated code that introduces a bug that releases keys, and then gets this past the code review process). But you can limit the damage that can be done by "thousands of sysadmins". It sounds like there are cloud services providers that are doing a better job at this today than the NSA. And we're supposed to trust them with their audit controls? P.S. My undergraduate thesis in 1990 designed a symmetric key system that would allow data at rest to be encrypted, such that access could be controlled (and logged) via single key server system in which you invested all of your trust. This is not rocket science...