Enc

Abstract

1. Introduction

Enc is a CLI tool for encryption, a modern and friendly alternative to GnuPG. It is easy to use, secure by default and can encrypt and decrypt files using password or encryption keys, manage and download keys, and sign data. Our goal was to make encryption available to all engineers without the need to learn a lot of new words, concepts, and commands. It is the most beginner-friendly CLI tool for encryption, and keeping it that way is our top priority.

2. Objective

🔑🔒 A modern and friendly CLI alternative to GnuPG: generate and download keys, encrypt, decrypt, and sign text and files, and more.

This project demonstrates how Go can be applied to a real-world Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking problem.

3. Key Features / Modules

• Easy installation. Grab the binary, and you're ready to go.
• Friendly CLI. We use well-isolated subcommands to group flags. There are no flags that can't be used together or must be used in a very specific combination.
• Well-documented.
• Reliable. Under the hood, enc uses gopenpgp library. The same library that powers ProtonMail.
• UNIX-way. Enc does only one job and does it well. And it plays nicely with any other tools. It reads all possible input from stdin and writes all possible output into stdout.
• CI-friendly. There is no interactive prompt. All input is strictly stdin or CLI flags.
• Not all encryption algorithms supported by GnuPG are supported by enc.
• You'll still need to import keys into GnuPG to use tools that are integrated with GnuPG, like git.

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Go 1.20 or later
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/life4/enc.git
cd enc

1. Extract the binary: tar -xf enc_.tar.gz
2. Make it executable: chmod +x enc
3. Place it in your PATH: mv enc ~/.local/bin
4. Check if it works: enc version
5. If it says "command not found", run echo $PATH and check if ~/.local/bin is there. If not, add into your ~/.bashrc the following: export PATH=$PATH:~/.local/bin

go install github.com/life4/enc@latest

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add logging and alert notifications (email / Telegram)
• Write a threat model document for the tool
• Package it with Docker for safe lab testing

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Which threat or attack does this project defend against?
2. What detection or protection technique is used and what are its limits?
3. How are false positives and false negatives handled?
4. Which cryptographic algorithms or security standards are involved?
5. What legal and ethical rules apply when testing a tool like this?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by life4 and published on GitHub under the MIT License. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.