The options listed here are available on multiple platforms and great for creating encrypted backups of your data.

Protects against the following threat(s):

* Tcf362fPassive Attacks

Cryptomator is an encryption solution designed for privately saving files to any cloud Tcf362fService Provider, eliminating the need to trust that they won't access your files. It allows you to create vaults that are stored on a virtual drive, the contents of which are encrypted and synced with your cloud storage provider.

Homepage (https://cryptomator.org)

* Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cryptomator)

* App Store (https://apps.apple.com/app/id1560822163)

* Android (https://cryptomator.org/android)

* Windows (https://cryptomator.org/downloads)

* macOS (https://cryptomator.org/downloads)

* Linux (https://cryptomator.org/downloads)

* Flathub (https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.cryptomator.Cryptomator)

Cryptomator uses AES-256 encryption to encrypt both files and filenames. Cryptomator cannot encrypt metadata such as access, modification, and creation timestamps, nor the number and size of files and folders.

Cryptomator is free to use on all desktop platforms, as well as on iOS in "read only" mode. Cryptomator offers paid (https://cryptomator.org/pricing) apps with full functionality on iOS and Android. The Android version can be purchased anonymously via ProxyStore (https://cryptomator.org/coop/proxystore).

Some Cryptomator cryptographic libraries have been audited (https://community.cryptomator.org/t/has-there-been-a-security-review-audit-of-cryptomator/44) by Cure53. The scope of the audited libraries includes: cryptolib (https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptolib), cryptofs (https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptofs), siv-mode (https://github.com/cryptomator/siv-mode) and cryptomator-objc-cryptor (https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator-objc-cryptor). The audit did not extend to cryptolib-swift (https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptolib-swift), which is a library used by Cryptomator for iOS.

Cryptomator's documentation details its intended security target (https://docs.cryptomator.org/en/latest/security/security-target), security architecture (https://docs.cryptomator.org/en/latest/security/architecture), and best practices (https://docs.cryptomator.org/en/latest/security/best-practices) for use in further detail.

Protects against the following threat(s):

* Tcf362fTargeted Attacks

VeraCrypt is a source-available freeware utility used for on-the-fly encryption. It can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file, encrypt a partition, or encrypt the entire storage device with pre-boot authentication.

Homepage (https://veracrypt.fr)

* Windows (https://veracrypt.fr/en/Downloads.html)

* macOS (https://veracrypt.fr/en/Downloads.html)

* Linux (https://veracrypt.fr/en/Downloads.html)

VeraCrypt is a fork of the discontinued TrueCrypt project. According to its developers, security improvements have been implemented and issues raised by the initial TrueCrypt code audit have been addressed.

When encrypting with VeraCrypt, you have the option to select from different hash functions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VeraCrypt#Encryption_scheme). We suggest you only select SHA-512 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-512) and stick to the AES (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard) block cipher.

TrueCrypt has been audited a number of times (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt#Security_audits), and VeraCrypt has also been audited separately (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VeraCrypt#VeraCrypt_audit).

Protects against the following threat(s):

* Tcf362fTargeted Attacks

Built-in OS encryption solutions generally leverage hardware security features such as a Tcf362fsecure cryptoprocessor. Therefore, we recommend using the built-in encryption solutions for your operating system. For cross-platform encryption, we still recommend cross-platform tools for additional flexibility and to avoid vendor lock-in.

Powering off your devices when they’re not in use provides the highest level of security, as it minimizes the attack surface of your FDE method by ensuring no encryption keys remain in memory.

BitLocker is the full volume encryption solution bundled with Microsoft Windows that uses the Trusted Platform Module (TPM (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/information-protection/tpm/how-windows-uses-the-tpm)) for hardware-based security.

BitLocker is officially supported (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/bitlocker-overview-44c0c61c-989d-4a69-8822-b95cd49b1bbf) on the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows. The Home edition only supports automatic Device Encryption (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/device-encryption-in-windows-cf7e2b6f-3e70-4882-9532-18633605b7df) and must meet specific hardware requirements. If you’re using the Home edition, we recommend upgrading to Pro (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/upgrade-windows-home-to-windows-pro-ef34d520-e73f-3198-c525-d1a218cc2818), which can be done without reinstalling Windows or losing your files.

Pro and higher editions also support the more secure pre-boot TPM+PIN (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/operating-system-security/data-protection/bitlocker/faq#what-is-the-difference-between-a-tpm-owner-password--recovery-password--recovery-key--pin--enhanced-pin--and-startup-key) feature, configured through the appropriate Tcf362fgroup policy settings. The PIN is rate limited and the TPM will panic and lock access to the encryption key either permanently or for a period of time if someone attempts to brute force access.

FileVault is the on-the-fly volume encryption solution built into macOS. FileVault takes advantage of the Tcf362fhardware security capabilities present on an Apple Silicon SoC or T2 Security Chip.

We advise against using your iCloud account for recovery; instead, you should securely store a local recovery key on a separate storage device.

LUKS is the default FDE method for Linux. It can be used to encrypt full volumes, partitions, or create encrypted containers.

Repository (https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup#what-the-)

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/path-to-file bs=1M count=1024 status=progress

sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /path-to-file

We recommend opening containers and volumes with 'udisksctl' as this uses Polkit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polkit). Most file managers, such as those included with popular desktop environments, can unlock encrypted files. Tools like udiskie (https://github.com/coldfix/udiskie) can run in the system tray and provide a helpful user interface.

udisksctl loop-setup -f /path-to-file

udisksctl unlock -b /dev/loop0

We recommend you always back up your LUKS headers (https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Device_encryption#Backup_and_restore) in case of partial drive failure. This can be done with:

cryptsetup luksHeaderBackup /dev/device --header-backup-file /mnt/backup/file.img

Protects against the following threat(s):

* Tcf362fTargeted Attacks

Tools with command-line interfaces are useful for integrating shell scripts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_script).

Kryptor is a free and open-source file encryption and signing tool that makes use of modern and secure cryptographic algorithms. It aims to be a better version of age (https://github.com/FiloSottile/age) and Minisign (https://jedisct1.github.io/minisign) to provide a simple, easier alternative to GPG.

Homepage (https://kryptor.co.uk)

* Windows (https://kryptor.co.uk)

* macOS (https://kryptor.co.uk)

* Linux (https://kryptor.co.uk)

Tomb is a command-line shell wrapper for LUKS. It supports steganography via third-party tools (https://dyne.org/software/tomb/#advanced-usage).

Homepage (https://dyne.org/software/tomb)

Protects against the following threat(s):

* Tcf362fTargeted Attacks

* Tcf362fPassive Attacks

* Tcf362fService Providers

OpenPGP is sometimes needed for specific tasks such as digitally signing and encrypting email. PGP has many features and is complex (https://latacora.micro.blog/2019/07/16/the-pgp-problem.html) as it has been around a long time. For tasks such as signing or encrypting files, we suggest the above options.

When encrypting with PGP, you have the option to configure different options in your 'gpg.conf' file. We recommend staying with the standard options specified in the GnuPG user FAQ (https://gnupg.org/faq/gnupg-faq.html#new_user_gpg_conf).

When generating keys (https://gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html) we suggest using the 'future-default' command as this will instruct GnuPG use modern cryptography such as Curve25519 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curve25519#History) and Ed25519 (https://ed25519.cr.yp.to):

gpg --quick-gen-key alice@example.com future-default

GnuPG is a GPL-licensed alternative to the PGP suite of cryptographic software. GnuPG is compliant with RFC 4880 (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4880), which is the current IETF specification of OpenPGP. The GnuPG project has been working on an updated draft (https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-openpgp-crypto-refresh) in an attempt to modernize OpenPGP. GnuPG is a part of the Free Software Foundation's GNU software project and has received major funding (https://gnupg.org/blog/20220102-a-new-future-for-gnupg.html) from the German government.

Homepage (https://gnupg.org)

* Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sufficientlysecure.keychain)

* Windows (https://gpg4win.org/download.html)

* macOS (https://gpgtools.org)

* Linux (https://gnupg.org/download/index.html#binary)

GPG4win is a package for Windows from Intevation and g10 Code (https://gpg4win.org/impressum.html). It includes various tools (https://gpg4win.org/about.html) that can assist you in using GPG on Microsoft Windows. The project was initiated and originally funded by (https://web.archive.org/web/20190425125223/https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/government-used-cryptography) Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in 2005.

Homepage (https://gpg4win.org)

* Windows (https://gpg4win.org/download.html)

GPG Suite provides OpenPGP support for Tcf362fApple Mail and other email clients on macOS.

We recommend taking a look at their First steps (https://gpgtools.tenderapp.com/kb/how-to/first-steps-where-do-i-start-where-do-i-begin-setup-gpgtools-create-a-new-key-your-first-encrypted-email) and Knowledge Base (https://gpgtools.tenderapp.com/kb) for support.

Homepage (https://gpgtools.org)

* macOS (https://gpgtools.org)

Currently, GPG Suite does not yet (https://gpgtools.com/sequoia) have a stable release for macOS Sonoma and later.

OpenKeychain is an implementation of GnuPG for Android. It's commonly required by mail clients such as Tcf362fThunderbird, Tcf362fFairEmail, and other Android apps to provide encryption support.

Homepage (https://openkeychain.org)

* Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sufficientlysecure.keychain)

Cure53 completed a security audit (https://openkeychain.org/openkeychain-3-6) of OpenKeychain 3.6 in October 2015. The published audit and OpenKeychain's solutions to the issues raised in the audit can be found here (https://github.com/open-keychain/open-keychain/wiki/cure53-Security-Audit-2015).

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