[Full-disclosure] Just how secure encrypted linux partitions really are?

[Levente Peres <sheridan@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello to All,

If anyone have serious hands-on experience with this, I would like to 
know some hard facts about this matter... I thought to ask you, because 
here're some of the top experts in this field, so I could find few 
better places. Hope you can nodge me in the right direction, and take 
the time to answer this.

Let's suppose I have a CentOS server, with encrypted root partition, and 
I put the /boot partition on a separate USB key for good measure. 
Encryption technology is the default which "ships" with CentOS 5.5 and 
it's LVM.

If someone gets hold of that machine, or rather, the drives inside the 
Smart Array, what are the chances he can "decrypt" the root partition, 
thus gaining access to the files, if he doesn't know the key? I mean I 
know that given enough time, probably it could be done with brute-force. 
But seriously, how much of a hinderance this is to anyone attempting to 
do this? Does it offer any serious protection or is it just some 
inconvenience to the person conducting the analysis of the machine? How 
realistic is it that one can accomplish the decryption inside a 
reasonable amount of time (like, say, within half a year or so)?

Could some of you please give me some of your thoughts about this? And, 
maybe, what other methods of file system encryption are out there which 
are more secure?

Thanks,

Levente

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