Encryption in 60 Seconds

Encryption is scrambling information so that it looks like gibberish to anyone who doesn't have the key to unscramble it.

Think of it like a safe with a combination lock. You put your documents inside, lock the door, and only someone with the combination can open it. Without the combination, the documents are safe — even if someone steals the entire safe.

Digital encryption works the same way, except the "safe" is mathematical, and the "combination" is a string of characters called a key.

How Lazarus Vault Uses Encryption

Lazarus Vault uses AES-256 encryption — the same standard used by banks, governments, and the military. Here's how it protects your files:

When you upload a file:

  • Your file is encrypted on your end using a unique key generated for your account
  • The encrypted (scrambled) version is what gets stored on our servers
  • The original file never touches our servers in readable form

When you write a message:

  • Your message text is encrypted with your account key
  • The encrypted text is stored in the database
  • No one — not even our administrators — can read your messages

When your vault triggers:

  • Your recipients receive secure links via email
  • When they click a link, the system decrypts your files/messages for them to view or download
  • The links are time-limited and track access

Why This Matters

Without encryption, storing sensitive documents online would be dangerous. Anyone who gained access to the server — through a hack, a subpoena, or insider access — could read your files.

With encryption, that's impossible. Even if someone stole every file from our servers, they'd get nothing but encrypted data. Without your key, it's unreadable.

Here's what that means in practice:

  • If our servers are hacked — the attacker gets encrypted gibberish
  • If a government demands your data — we can only provide encrypted files
  • If an employee goes rogue — they can't access your content
  • If your recipient link is intercepted — it's tied to a specific email and time-limited

The Master Key

Your account has its own encryption key, which is itself encrypted using a master key that lives in a configuration file on your server. This is a two-layer system:

  • Layer 1: Your files are encrypted with your account key
  • Layer 2: Your account key is encrypted with the master key

This means even a database breach doesn't expose your account key — it's stored encrypted, and the master key to decrypt it isn't in the database.

What This Means for You

You don't need to understand the math behind AES-256 to benefit from it. What you need to know is:

  • Your files are unreadable to anyone but your designated recipients
  • Your messages are private — no one can read them until your trigger fires
  • The encryption standard we use is the same one trusted by governments and banks worldwide
  • You don't have to manage keys or passwords — the system handles it automatically

Encryption Isn't Optional — It's the Foundation

Many services offer "secure" storage but hold the encryption keys themselves, meaning they can access your files if they want to. Lazarus Vault is different. The encryption key that protects your files is tied to your account and your server configuration — not held by us as a backdoor.

This is called zero-knowledge architecture, and it's the difference between "we promise not to look" and "we can't look."