TrueCrypt End of Life ?!

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

Schneier on Security > TrueCrypt ***

I have no idea what's going on with TrueCrypt. There's a good summary of the story at ArsTechnica, and Slashdot, Hacker News, and Reddit all have long comment threads. See also Brian Krebs and Cory Doctorow.

Speculations include a massive hack of the TrueCrypt developers, some Lavabit-like forced shutdown, and an internal power struggle within TrueCrypt. I suppose we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Tags: encryption, TrueCrypt
Posted on May 29, 2014 at 8:02 AM • 42 Comments
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Over on Krebs they're saying:

The anonymous developers responsible for building and maintaining the free whole-disk encryption suite TrueCrypt apparently threw in the towel this week, shuttering the TrueCrypt site and warning users that the product is no longer secure now that Microsoft has ended support for Windows XP.
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?

antik · 2014/05/29

Interesting links. Thank you.

The advice to use bitlocker isn't going to satisfy some folks. TrueCrypt is part of a security hardened linux distribution called Tails, which was apparently used by Edward Snowden.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/05/06/snowden-s-os-of-choice/

https://Tails.boum.org/index.en.html

"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead." - Benjamin Franklin

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

You're welcome.

And apparently still being used by Bruce Schnier:
Schneier on Security > Blog > Auditing TrueCrypt

Recently, Matthew Green has been leading an independent project to audit TrueCrypt. Phase I, a source code audit by iSEC Partners, is complete. Next up is Phase II, formal cryptanalysis.

Quick summary: I'm still using it.

Posted on April 15, 2014 at 6:56 AM
...
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antik · 2014/05/29

A gem buried in the comments:

kingsnake "¢ April 15, 2014 12:11 PM
NSA Director Can’t Stop Wife From Reading E-Mails

http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/04/nsa-wife-e-mails/

(For the humor-challenged, it is satire)

(Quote) "The four-star admiral "” a specialist in cryptology and cyber warfare "” said that despite routinely changing his password, clearing his browser cache, and implementing other routine security measures, his wife was still somehow able to see the most intimate details of his life with just the click of a button...He can change his password every five minutes, but when he writes them all down on sticky notes and tacks them to his monitor that kind of defeats the purpose, the source explained. "

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

. . .

James Martin · 2014/05/29

Has the Truecrypt site been hacked into?

I can't seem to confirm or deny it.

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

Don't know yet. Like they said above, I suppose we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Steve Gibxon > Whither TrueCrypt?

... it seems much more likely, if also much less welcome, that TrueCrypt has been completely abandoned by its creators.
...
So, given the scant evidence, I think it’s much more likely that the TrueCrypt team – whomever they are – legitimately created this updated Windows executable and other files which would imply that they also took down their long-running TrueCrypt site.

Which, of course, leaves us asking why? We don’t know because we don’t know anything about them or their motives. They might be in Russia or China where Windows XP is still a big deal (with a more than 50% share) and personally annoyed with Microsoft for cutting off support for Windows XP. Or anything else.

What’s creepy is that we may never know.
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James Martin · 2014/05/29

From the links above, it appears that some are still using TC in spite of the takedown. WOT is giving bad marks for the redirection to bitlocker.

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

At this point, I rather doubt TrueCrypt cares.

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Interesting read: The Register > TrueCrypt turmoil latest: Bruce Schneier reveals what he'll use instead

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One intriguing possibility – and one that's it's very difficult to either prove or disprove – is that this is a warrant canary triggered by pressure on TrueCrypt's developers by the feds to backdoor the software – which is favoured by the likes of Edward Snowden and his journo pals. Effectively, it would be a signal to the world that something is not right, without breaching any gagging order that may also be in place.

It could even be in response to a threat to unmask the development team.

"Somebody was about to de-anonymize the Truecrypt developers, and this is their response," suggested Prof Green.

Veteran security world watcher Graham Cluley said: "Whether hoax, hack or genuine end-of-life for TrueCrypt, it’s clear that no security-conscious users are going to feel comfortable trusting the software after this debacle. It’s time to start looking for an alternative way to encrypt your files and hard drive. "

The outlook for those who rely on TrueCrypt to encrypt their drives and/or files just became overcast with doubt.

Johannes Ullrich of the SANS Technology Institute recommended FileVault and LUKS, for Mac OS X and Linux users, respectively, as potential alternatives. "Sadly, these are not compatible with each other. You will need to find a replacement for portable media that need to move between operating systems. PGP/GnuPG comes to mind as an option," he advised.

An earlier list of alternatives to TrueCrypt put together by security expert The Grugq can be found here.
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arstechnica > Bombshell TrueCrypt advisory: Backdoor? Hack? Hoax? None of the above?

James Martin · 2014/05/29

I'm not too worried at the moment, but I will keep my options open.

Strange how Windows XP plays into this. What could an aging operating system have to do with TC?

SpywareDr · 2014/05/29

Steve Gibson > Whither TrueCrypt?

... given the scant evidence, I think it’s much more likely that the TrueCrypt team – whomever they are – legitimately created this updated Windows executable and other files which would imply that they also took down their long-running TrueCrypt site.

Which, of course, leaves us asking why? We don’t know because we don’t know anything about them or their motives. They might be in Russia or China where Windows XP is still a big deal (with a more than 50% share) and personally annoyed with Microsoft for cutting off support for Windows XP. Or anything else.

What’s creepy is that we may never know.
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SpywareDr · 2014/05/30

TrueCrypt.ch

TrueCrypt must not die
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jamesTGibson · 2014/05/31

I have been worried about all this. I was searching for other free opensource alternatives to truecrypt and I found this: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1EN7r8/1khJe3bID:OGg6mpSK/www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaQEzA2ye4U

It is DiskCryptor and the video shows how to encryption the system drive. I am actually thinking about trying this one since I have now seen it in usage from start to end. i believe this one is probably the best I checked out today.

TonyT · 2014/06/13

If I needed encryption I'd use:
GnuPG and Gpg4win.

James Martin · 2014/06/23

Secunia PSI is giving TrueCrypt an end of life rating.

SpywareDr · 2014/06/24

Actually, there had been no new releases of TrueCrypt since version 7.1a on 7 February 2012. Support for Windows 8.n and UEFI BIOSes were purportedly promised but never delivered.

Steven Barnhart wrote to an email address for a TrueCrypt Foundation member he had used in the past and received several replies from "David ". Here are a few snippets:

"We worked hard on this for 10 years, nothing lasts forever "

"no government contact except one time inquiring about a 'support contract' "

"There is no longer interest [in maintaining the project] "
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Data-encryption alternatives to TrueCrypt - by Lincoln Spector

James Martin · 2014/06/24

I assume the encryption method is still sound. Is that not enough to continue using the product?

SpywareDr · 2014/06/24

Don't know for sure. The TrueCrypt webpage states:

WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues
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Based on OCAP's Phase 1 audit, TrueCrypt does not have any back doors and still provides secure encryption that can’t be easily cracked. The Phase II audit was reportedly to begin this month.

Legitimate app breaks popular encryption systems

By Lincoln Spector on February 7, 2013 in Top Story

Conventional wisdom has been that files protected with good encryption can’t be cracked. But a new, $300, wizard-driven app can unlock BitLocker-, PGP-, and TrueCrypt-encrypted files, folders, and drives "” no matter how strong a password youâ€™re using.

[...continues...]
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