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Open Source Decryption Tools
Hardware-encrypted external drives cannot simply be imaged and read. The bridge chip holds the key, so the volume has to be decrypted before a single file is recoverable. These are the tools that job requires.
Why an external drive needs decrypting at all
Many external drives encrypt everything written to them at the bridge chip inside the enclosure — often without the owner ever choosing to turn encryption on. Pull the bare drive out of the case and connect it directly, and the contents read as noise.
This page lists the environment and packages used for that work. It is reference material, not a walkthrough. If your drive is encrypted and failing, bring it in with its enclosure and power adapter — the enclosure is part of the recovery.
What the toolchain runs on
bashShell used to drive the processGNU CoreutilsCore file and text utilitiesutil-linuxDisk and device utilitiessudoElevated privilegescryptsetupHandles the encrypted volumeopensslCryptographic operationsvimFor the xxd utilityfileIdentifies file and volume typesmultipath-toolsDevice mapping$ sudo apt-get install cryptsetup
It depends which bridge chip is in the enclosure
python(version 2)pycryptoalso called python-crypto
kernel developmentmay be called kernel-devGCCthe same version that was used to build your kernelkmodormodutil
$ sudo apt-get build-dep linux-image-$(uname -r)
Core utilities
Handles the decryption itself. Written in Go, which means it builds and runs on the same machine used for imaging rather than needing a separate environment.
Takes the image. Reads the drive sector by sector and works around unreadable areas rather than stalling on them, so a failing encrypted drive can still be captured before decryption is attempted.
Order matters. The drive is imaged first with ddrescue and the decryption is run against the image, never against the original. If the drive is also failing physically, every read attempt costs you data.
Encrypted drive not reading?
Bring the enclosure and the power adapter with it. The examination and quotation are no charge and obligation free.