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A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

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Encrypting data on local servers? (feddit.org)

submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I am looking for some recommendations on how to secure the data of my physical servers (against physical theft), that I am about to set up. I am new to selfhosting but have a few years of experience running Linux on a desktop.

My usecase is a simple debian(?) server at home with Paperless ngx and Tailscale for when I am away from home.

The question is how to encrypt the data while still being able to keep the server updated.

Coming from Desktop my first thought was to simply enable FDE on install. But that would mean supplying the password everytime the server needs to reboot for an update. Could someone provide some insights on how often updates to debian require a reboot?

My second thought was to use an encrypted data partition. That way the server could reboot and I could use wireguard to ssh in and open the partition even when I am away from home for a longer time.

I am open to other ideas!

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Good question.

Debian doesn't often require a reboot, but the longer you go, and if you need kernel modules (nvidia is the worst at this) you might need to reboot to keep everything in sync.

My suggestion: raspberry pi, like 1st edition, keep the key very secure, give it a usb serial console. When the server reboots, enter the password that way. It's your emergency console.