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I want to create a system for sensitive information that is only accessible if you have a specific tablet and a specific USB thumb drive. I want to setup such a system for my daughter when she is a certain age, the system will contain certain information I want to pass on.

Is that possible in some way? I have no idea where to start on such a thing.

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    I'm not really confident what exactly you want to build. Do you want a tablet (or computer?) which: (1) can only be logged in by an user who possess a specific USB drive and (2) it cannot be tampered with, by, for example, taking out the hard drive and reading the data out of it. If that is the case that is completely possible, you're after full disk encryption with the key residing on the USB pendrive.
    – grochmal
    Nov 27, 2016 at 23:39
  • Yes you are correct. That is what I am looking for. It will be just for her. How could I do full disk encryption with a USB pendrive?
    – Amir
    Nov 27, 2016 at 23:47
  • Do you really need "a system," or just a storage device with encrypted files?
    – Ron Trunk
    Nov 27, 2016 at 23:48
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    I guess I called it a system as I was not sure of another way to speak of the entire process. If it's just a set of encrypted files only accessible with a USB pendrive and prevents such things as removing the hard drive or tricking the system then yes.
    – Amir
    Nov 27, 2016 at 23:50
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    @Amir if those are your requirements then you just need standard crypto, and GnuPG will fit the bill. You don't actually need full disk encryption, you just need file-level encryption.
    – André Borie
    Nov 28, 2016 at 0:04

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So, you want to hide information until a certain date, for your daughter. This must resist her attempts to retrieve this data too early.

Just use any encryption software (GnuPG, VeraCrypt, even 7-zip, etc), encrypt your documents (the data) and put them on a external hard drive or a tablet, then put the encryption key or the randomly-generated password (the secret) on the USB thumb drive.

Make sure to put the drive containing the encrypted data in an hazard-free location (you don't want it to be destroyed by fire, flood or extreme changes in temperature and air pressure). Make sure your daughter knows how to find it. Give your secret (the thumb drive or the password) to a notary to be released on your daughter birthday. Add it to your testament too, bad luck happens. I would recommend to print on paper a long randomly-generated password (use a password generator) instead of an encryption key on a thumb drive as it will be more resilient to time than any electronics. Also, the notary will prefer a piece of paper. You can add a description of the location of the hard drive next to the password.

If you're looking for a way to ensure the data cannot be retrieved before a certain date by means of software or hardware only, I'm afraid this cannot be done. Whatever the chosen "solution", it would be very easy to fool its date and make it believe the day has come to release the data.

For added peace of mind, I would recommend saving your encrypted data on two hard drives and storing them in two different locations. You can also look up Parchive: apply it to your encrypted data to generate redundant data. This will be useful to recover from the corrupted bits likely to occur when time will take it's toll. Also, prefer a "classic" HDD over an SSD to hold you data, as HDD have a proven record to be able to sustain data for a long time without power.

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  • I think that is the perfect solution I am looking for. Your answer along with others will set me right. Thanks again for the help on a non traditional question.
    – Amir
    Nov 28, 2016 at 18:08
  • @Amir Also, prefer a "classic" HDD over an SSD to hold you data, as HDD have a proven record to be able to sustain data for a long time without power. (I've edited my answer to add this bit of info).
    – A. Hersean
    Nov 29, 2016 at 8:45

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