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AWS breaks silence over Truecrypt's role in data import/export

No noise from web warehouse as hacking rumours fly.

Update Amazon Web Services (AWS) has issued some advice on how it uses the kept mum on whether it will dump the troubled TrueCrypt platform used to encrypt data imported and exported to its Simple Storage Service, Amazon EBS snapshots and Glacier cold storage offerings. .

The popular crypto platform recently became a pariah after its shadowy developers posted a note to the official website claiming it was compromised and users should adopt rival Microsoft Bitlocker.

The unspecified security risk and ensuing information blackhole sent parts of the tech industry into a spin.

Security bods midway through a comprehensive Truecrypt security audit vowed to continue and said they had not found any reason to dump the platform.

Questions remained whether Amazon considered TrueCrypt safe enough to be the only option for encrypting data.

The web warehouse did not reply when asked by Vulture South if it considered Truecrypt secure or is considering an alternative, but the company's website still says "For added security, AWS (Amazon Web Services) import/export supports data encryption using TrueCrypt for import to Amazon S3 and export from Amazon S3" here.

"TrueCrypt is the only device encryption supported by AWS import / export," the page continues.

All data exported from S3 was encrypted with TrueCrypt using a supplied password, but Amazon Glacier and Elastic Block Store customers could use any encryption method they liked.

Last month El Reg reported Truecrypt version 7.2 was dropping malware executables and had been tampered to such an extent that it refused to encrypt data and generated pop up warnings of the apparent compromise.

The wide-spread adoption of Truecrypt appeared at loggerheads with suggestions developers simply ditched the platform due to outstanding security vulnerabilities. Other commentators suggested it was shuttered to avoid government interception requests or was simply the work of miscreants.

Either way, a future of Truecrypt appeared secured with code security auditors pledging to continue their work and last week Swiss techies Thomas Bruderer and Joseph Doekbrijder revived the project with the launch of truecrypt.ch which offers version 7.1a of the platform.

Auditors are now reviewing Truecrypt random number generators and cipher suites.

Update, Monday June 16th

An Amazon Web Services Spokesentity has contacted The Reg to advise that "AWS Import/Export is the only AWS service that uses TrueCrypt, but AWS is aware of the statement on the TrueCrypt website and continues to monitor closely." ®

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