TransCryptDFS: A secure distributed Encrypting File System

Ubiquitous availability and need for transparent remote data access has increased significantly due to increased capacity and widespread availability of computer networks such as Internet. Remote access can be facilitated by storing data at the file server and accessing data as required using distributed file systems (DFS's). This remote access exposes file server, client and data to various on-line and off-line attacks. Off-line attacks to data can be prevented by using Encrypting File System (EFS) such as TransCrypt [1], NCryptfs [2], Microsoft EFS [3], etc. On-line attacks can be handled by using dynamic security mechanisms such as mutual authentication and secure session establishment. In this paper, a secure DFS for providing access to data residing on a TransCrypt [1] server from a client machine is proposed. The proposed DFS is implemented, and can be used transparently and flexibly without requiring any change to the existing applications.