Re: [dm-crypt] cryptsetup, LUKS, plausible deniability

[Arno Wagner <arno@wagner.name>]

On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 09:44:31PM +0200, Ivan Stankovic wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 08:36:02PM +0200, Arno Wagner wrote:
> > > One thing I'd like to address however, regarding a possible future
> > > implementation of truecrypt-style "hidden devices". If you'll ever plan
> > > to do such a thing, remember that they are absolutely useless (except
> > > maybe for USB sticks) until it will be not possible to use something
> > > different from FAT16 for the host device. I tell you this because I had
> > > many, many difficulties using a hidden device for my home, until at last
> > > I had to abandon the idea.
> > 
> > It is basically not possible to have a hidden volume or any hidden
> > datya without raising suspicion. The entropy of the encryoted data
> > cannopt be hidden and some seemingly random data will always be
> > presend in the presence of a hidden volume. You can only claim
> > that this data is not a hidden volume, and you can do the same
> > already with a plain dm-crypt device. 
> 
> ... but not with LUKS. And this is what I'm looking for: having
> all the benefits and convenience of LUKS but without the revealing
> signature. Making sure that other components of the system do well
> with respect to deniability is, of course, the user's problem.

Basically, you cannot get this with LUKS. You would need to give
up all plausibility checking, for one thing. That would change
the characteristics too much. I think you should stop trying
to fit a round peg into a square hole. LUKS was never designed
to hide.

Of course, if you are really desperate to do this against all 
advice, you are always welcome to fork...

Arno
-- 
Arno Wagner, Dr. sc. techn., Dipl. Inform., CISSP -- Email: arno@wagner.name 
GnuPG:  ID: 1E25338F  FP: 0C30 5782 9D93 F785 E79C  0296 797F 6B50 1E25 338F
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