Linux alternative
 

I have been looking to recommend Linux as an alternative to Windows, however I have run into a major road block that I have not been able to get around. I have a client who swears by Microsoft's (EFS) Encrypting file system. Although I know that you can encrypt files on linux it appears that neither Linux or Apple has the ability to designate recovery agents as with Microsoft .

In the MS implementation of EFS if a user encrypts a file and leaves the organization. It is possible to have a administrator to decrypt the files. I am afraid that I have to agree with the client that this is a major short coming of any Linux solution because it does not allow for the efficient encryption and decryption of files.

I would think that this would be something that Novell's OES would attempt to implement however this is not the case. With that said I can't imaging how Linux can actually compete on a secure basis if it lacks the ability to encrypt files on disk as well as provide a manageable method of decryption. The client is concerned about this for SOX compliance.

Does anyone have an alternative???????????

While I haven't used it, PointSec claims to provide this functionality on Linux.

I'm not sure exactly what functionality you need here, but the LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup) system lets you use multiple passwords, so an administrator could have access to all systems with the same password, while the users would all have their own password.