What if those encrypted files and folders in Dropbox are renamed / deleted? Losing entire vault?

Hi there,

I am new to Cryptomater. I added a vault to Dropbox and now move folders and files into the vault (that lives within Dropbox).

I go to Dropbox online and can see some (to me) random folder and file structure. Proves that the files cannot be accesses from within Dropbox itself → Good.

If I access it via Finder after unlocking the vault, I can see all folders / files → Good.

However, what if somehow those folders and files in Dropbox web view (encrypted state) get renamed or deleted? I think this can be done, and my logical thinking tells me this would mess up the entire vault, so you might lose everything.

What do you think? How does that work?

You are right. If anyone/anything is renaming or moving or deleting your encrypted vault files, you cannot decrypt the corresponding files anymore. As Cryptomator encryption is file based, you won’t loose your complete vault. Only the parts where the structure or naming of the encrypted files/folders are messed up. This is why backups are important.
Cryptomators purpose is data privacy. Not data security. Please do your backups. I recommend a 3-2-1 backup strategy.

2 Likes

Thanks @Michael for explaining. Now that I think of it again, I think it just feels different compared to Boxcryptor. It’s the same situation there, if an encrypted file is by mistake deleted, it will be gone of course. The difference is, that you know which file you deleted by mistake. With the extra security layer (not being able to see the folder/file structure and name) you don’t know which file is affected or if perhaps multiple files are affected.

If I have an additional backup. e.g. to my Synology Drive, those files will be encrypted with Cryptomator on my Synology Drive.

I wonder how I could access / easily restore those? I don’t have a clear picture about that process yet