Encryption & Secure File Vault

A lightweight, secure file encryption and decryption utility built with Python and the cryptography library. This project allows users to vault sensitive files using AES-256 (Fernet) symmetric encryption.

Features

• Strong Encryption: Uses AES-256 bit encryption via the Fernet implementation.
• Automated Key Management: Generates and manages a secret.key for secure access.
• Easy Interface: Designed for quick file uploads and processing.
• File Integrity: Ensures files remain encrypted and unreadable without the specific generated key.

Installation

Ensure you have Python installed, then install the necessary dependency:

pip install cryptography

Usage

1. Generate a Key: Run the initialization script to create your secret.key file. Important: Backup this file; if lost, your data cannot be decrypted.
2. Encrypt a File: Provide the file path to the encryption function. It will produce a .encrypted version of your file.
3. Decrypt a File: Use the decryption function with your secret.key to restore the original file content.

How it Works

This project utilizes the Fernet module which guarantees that a message encrypted using it cannot be manipulated or read without the key. It uses:

• AES in CBC mode with a 128-bit key for encryption.
• HMAC with SHA256 for authentication.

Security Warning

Never share your secret.key. Do not commit your secret.key to public version control systems like GitHub.