Safe decryption with GnuPG?

[Krzysztof Żelechowski]

Dnia 12-02-2008, Wt o godzinie 11:59 +0100, Anders Breindahl pisze:
> Hello,
> 
> On 200802010958, Krzysztof Żelechowski wrote:
> > 1. The decrypted information must not make it to any persistent medium 
> 
> Use full-disk encryption, as has been stated before. That way, you can
> be confident that nothing leaks into unencrypted places, since such do
> not exist in the running system.

Full disk encryption makes the system unnecessarily slow, 
especially if applied to swap space.  
I am seeking an intermediate solution for desktop computers
where the amount of confidential data is small.  
The system as a whole should not be affected 
(unless, of course, it is a dedicated device, 
but that is another story).

> 
> > 2. The decrypted text must not be stored in volatile memory any longer
> > than it is needed.  In particular, it should be converted to a
> > human-viewable bitmap and the computer-readable representation must be
> > immediately erased.
> 
> That I can't understand your motivation for. I suppose you're afraid
> that once compromised, your adversary can't search through memory for
> certain strings.

That is right.

> 
> But he could still be monitoring your actions, and copy whatever data
> you construct in RAM---including the adversary-readable bitmap.

Certainly.  
But unless the intruder is a root-kit, 
it cannot run a continuous memory scan unnoticed.  
On the other hand, 
immediate disposal of intermediate data 
can make casual inspection harder.

> 
> As Robert stated, many of your other requirements are void, if your
> adversary gains control of your machine.

Admittedly the protection will never be perfect 
but I would like it to be as good as can be.
> 
> > 8.  The application should be as lightweight as possible (for source
> > code audit).
> 
> Right, agreed.
> 
> > Can you direct me to some implementation meeting these requirements?
> 
> I wrote a such script once, that satisfies much of (the serious amongst)
> your requirements. Email me personally, if you're interested.

If you are so kind, 
or just the idea if you do not want it to be adapted and published.

> 
> Other than that you may want to look at this vim plugin, which is along
> the lines of what you seek:
> 
> http://vim.sourceforge.net/scripts/script.php?script_id=661
> 

It is not because it keeps encrypted data in memory.

> But I still hold that your requirements for protecting against a
> system-controlling adversary are silly! :)

As you wish.

Regards,
Chris