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I want to encrypt the data volume without re creating everything.
Is that possible?
No, the NAS doesn't have a way to do that.
FWIW, personally I don't think volume encryption is worth the trouble it can cause. The main threat to your files is over the network, and volume encryption doesn't improve network security at all.
While it can offer some security benefit if someone were to steal the NAS, but doesn't take the USB key, it also ends up giving you a volume that can't be vertically expanded, and which can't be recovered with tools like ReclaiMe if the need arises.
Also you do need to remember to insert the USB key whenever the NAS reboots - so you'd lose remote access to your files if the NAS reboots when you aren't local. If the NAS is on a power schedule, you'd need to leave the USB key installed all the time. Note if someone were to steal the NAS with the USB key, they could simply do an OS reinstall, and get full access to the data.
If you have some specific files that are particularly sensitive, you can put them veracrypt container on the NAS (or even an encrypted zip file). If you use Windows, you could also use an encrypted vhd or vhdx container. Generally speaking, these approaches all reduce the risk of both network threats and theft - but they don't support shared access very well (if at all).
I want to encrypt the data volume without re creating everything.
Is that possible?
No, the NAS doesn't have a way to do that.
FWIW, personally I don't think volume encryption is worth the trouble it can cause. The main threat to your files is over the network, and volume encryption doesn't improve network security at all.
While it can offer some security benefit if someone were to steal the NAS, but doesn't take the USB key, it also ends up giving you a volume that can't be vertically expanded, and which can't be recovered with tools like ReclaiMe if the need arises.
Also you do need to remember to insert the USB key whenever the NAS reboots - so you'd lose remote access to your files if the NAS reboots when you aren't local. If the NAS is on a power schedule, you'd need to leave the USB key installed all the time. Note if someone were to steal the NAS with the USB key, they could simply do an OS reinstall, and get full access to the data.
If you have some specific files that are particularly sensitive, you can put them veracrypt container on the NAS (or even an encrypted zip file). If you use Windows, you could also use an encrypted vhd or vhdx container. Generally speaking, these approaches all reduce the risk of both network threats and theft - but they don't support shared access very well (if at all).
Re: Is it possible to encrypt data volume after creation?
A word of caution when using Veracrypt with the container on a ReadyNAS: Turn off strict sync on that share, or your writes will be infuriatingly slow.
