How can I use Object Storage with NextCloud, while keeping my files safe with Server Side Encryption?

Hey there!

Yes, Nextcloud offers a plugin that allows you to automatically encrypt all new files uploaded to your server, and this also includes all files uploaded to Object Storage. This community post will assume you’ve already set up Object Storage with Nextcloud.

You’ll first need to make sure you’ve logged in as an admin on your Nextcloud instance. On the top right side of the screen, click your user, then click the “Apps” option from the drop down menu. Then click the search option at the top, then download an enable the plugin called “Default encryption module”

At this point, we will need to enable the encryption module. To do this, click your user once again on the top right side of the page, then click the “Settings” option in the drop down menu. From here, scroll down the left panel, and click “Security” under the Administration category.

Under the section “Server-side encryption”, there will be an option to enable the default encryption module. This will make it so that all files uploaded from this point will be automatically encrypted.

You can then test uploading a file into the folder that is synced with your Object Storage Bucket. If you then attempt to access the file directly via its publicly accessible link, or via the Cloud Manager, you will be able to download the file but it will be unreadable as its encrypted. To access its unencrypted version, simply download it directly via Nextcloud!