Hello all, I am working on a personal project where I plan to store user information on a server in an encrypted form. This is roughly the architecture of my app.
Writing data:
User Data -> [Encryption in browser via "Secret Key"] -> Encrypted data -> Server
Reading data:
Server -> Encrypted Data -> [Decryption in browser via "Secret Key"] -> User Data
I have two ways of performing the encryption:
Method 1:
- Encrypt using the "Secret Key" provided by the user and send it to the server for storage.
Note: This method would make changing the "Secret Key" cumbersome. All data should be imported to the client, decrypted with existing "Secret Key" and encrypted with the "New Secret Key".
Method 2:
- Generate a "Random Key" on the client side which will be used for encrypting the data.
- Store this "Random Key" encrypted using the "Secret Key" provided by the user on the server - "Encrypted Random Key".
- For decryption, decrypt using the "Secret Key" to obtain the "Random Key", use this for decrypting further encrypted messages.
Note: Changing password is much easier with this, I will have to decrypt "Encrypted Random Key" to get "Random Key" and I can now encrypt it again with the "New Secret Key".
I have two questions here:
1. While method 1 can be clearly classified as End to End encryption. I wanted to know if I can classify method 2 as End to End encryption as well?
2. Would you as a user be comfortable using an app which uses method 2 for storing your personal information.
Thanks in advance.
Writing data: User Data -> [Encryption in browser via "Secret Key"] -> Encrypted data -> Server
Reading data: Server -> Encrypted Data -> [Decryption in browser via "Secret Key"] -> User Data
I have two ways of performing the encryption:
Method 1: - Encrypt using the "Secret Key" provided by the user and send it to the server for storage.
Note: This method would make changing the "Secret Key" cumbersome. All data should be imported to the client, decrypted with existing "Secret Key" and encrypted with the "New Secret Key".
Method 2:
- Generate a "Random Key" on the client side which will be used for encrypting the data.
- Store this "Random Key" encrypted using the "Secret Key" provided by the user on the server - "Encrypted Random Key". - For decryption, decrypt using the "Secret Key" to obtain the "Random Key", use this for decrypting further encrypted messages.
Note: Changing password is much easier with this, I will have to decrypt "Encrypted Random Key" to get "Random Key" and I can now encrypt it again with the "New Secret Key".
I have two questions here:
1. While method 1 can be clearly classified as End to End encryption. I wanted to know if I can classify method 2 as End to End encryption as well?
2. Would you as a user be comfortable using an app which uses method 2 for storing your personal information.
Thanks in advance.