Not your keys, not your crypto! Everyone in the crypto space has heard this phrase before, but few really take it to the next level. The more financial wealth you are accumulating in cryptos, the more you should consider your privacy and security.
Mainstream OS vs Linux vs Tails
Working on common desktop operating systems (OS) like Windows or macOS, or mobile operating systems like Android or iOS, opens the door to various attack vectors. You can never be entirely sure if someone is seeing what you see or type. Also, keeping a digital copy of your keys on your computer is very dangerous and even keeping them on an unprotected USB stick might be a bad idea.
Using a Linux-based OS is a better solution although comes with a steep learning curve. It is also no guarantee to avoid attack vectors. Any software you install on it might compromise you, each time you go online you might reveal more about yourself than you want or should. If you know what you are doing, this is a great solution and an industry standard. However, most people don't.
This is where Tails comes in, the free Linux-based airgap solution: :
Tails, or The Amnesic Incognito Live System, is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity. All its incoming and outgoing connections are forced to go through Tor, and any non-anonymous connections are blocked. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB, and will leave no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. The Tor Project provided financial support for its development in the beginnings of the project. Tails comes with UEFI Secure Boot.
It was designed to protects against surveillance and censorship and got famous through Edward Snowden, who supposedly even tricked the NSA by using Tails. I recently started to learn more about it after our largest LeoFinance whale mentioned it multiple times. What I found is pretty fascinating and has become part of my strategy to protect my crypto keys.
Security On A Stick
Tails is designed to be booted from a USB flashdrive (or DVD). When you download and install it, you can actually verify online that you got an uncorrupted version. The whole process doesn't take long and is pretty straight forward, without any special technical knowledge required.
You can then restart your computer and boot from your new Tails USB flashdrive. Tails looks similar to Windows and I was immediately able to navigate without confusion. The internet connection is secured through the TOR protocol, hiding your IP and identity. The TOR browser is the default browser in Tails but you can also use the Unsafe browser (literally its name) for the few things that are impossible with TOR. Tails features many great and free open source programs for privacy and security. Below are listed only a few among multiple others:
- Thunderbird with OpenPGP for e-mail, data encryption and signing.
- KeePassXC password manager
- Electrum, an easy-to-use bitcoin client
- Libre Office
- Writer, a word processor
- Calc, a spreasheet application
- Impress, a presentation engine
- Draw, a drawing and flowcharting application
- Gimp (image pixel editor similar to Photoshop)
- Inkspace (image vector editor similar to Illustrator)
- Audacity (audio recorder and editor)
As you can see, you can basically use Tails for most of your normal work routines and it is all based on free, open-source tools.
Persistence vs Amnesic
Tails is by default an amnesic system. It forgets everything you have done with it and doesn't write any information to its core files. When you restart it, all downloaded files, all additionally installed software, all bookmarks and browser history - everything - is being reset to its original status.
This allows a very high security and privacy, avoiding any form of "fingerprinting" your activity online. But it also comes at the major drawback of comfort, as you also loose all your changed settings, internet connections, files etc.
The good news is, Tails allows you to create one encrypted persistent folder on your device, using all the remaining space that is still available on it. You need to secure it with a password, that is strong enough to meet your needs. A multiple random word phrase or alphanumeric code will do the job. The longer the phrase/code and the higher its randomness, the more secure it will be. Now you can set up your Tails in exactly the way you want and store important files on your encrypted persistent storage.
Managing Your Crypto Keys
With Tails you can now send very safely a transaction via Bitcoin using the Electrum wallet or change your HIVE master password using the TOR browser on Peakd.com or wallet.hive.blog. This is much safer than doing that in your normal operating system. These actions do not require a persistent storage in Tails.
However, maybe you want to keep an encrypted password manager on your Tails flashdrive, in which case the persistence can come in handy. The pre-installed KeePassXC is a great tool for that, which will create a database file in your persistent storage. You will have to create yet another secure password to access that database, creating a 2-layered encryption for your passwords and keys.
Keep in mind that this is still a security risk and you might loose/damage that device or your passwords to access it. Tails offers a cloning function, where you can create an exact clone to another USB flashdrive, which will be a physical backup for your data. You should also make sure not to loose/forget your passwords. All-in-all you might want to consider to keep a cold storage of your keys and/or passwords in form of a note or even better a steel engraving and not entirely rely on the digital copies (or your memory).
You can also install additional software on Tails persistence storage, like the Exodus wallet for example. Each new software will potentially lower your privacy and security, so do some research first and keep new software to an absolute minimum.
Tutorial Series by Infosec Bytes
The following Youtube playlist is from Infosec Bytes, a crash course in information security for journalists. They are based at the Centre for Investigative Journalism in London.
Final Thoughts
Tails is a relatively easy way to reach a much higher level of security and privacy. The entry barrier for new users is rather low and offers an easy access to an entirely new operating system. It is a much better way to use your crypto keys and reduces the risk of being spied upon and compromise your funds. However, it is by no means a perfectly safe solution and I am no security expert either. Quite the contrary, I just started to learn more about this field myself. You need to do your own research and learn all that is necessary to keep your funds safu.