TrueCrypt developer says fork would be “impossible”

After TrueCrypt’s sudden discontinuation last month, fans have been trying to keep the software alive. Matt Green, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins, asked one of TrueCrypt’s anonymous developers to use its code to build a forked version.

The developer’s response was discouraging saying:

“I am sorry, but I think what you’re asking for here is impossible. I don’t feel that forking truecrypt [sic] would be a good idea…I believe that starting from scratch wouldn’t require much more work than actually learning and understanding all of truecrypts [sic] current codebase.”

While TrueCrypt’s code is open to the public to see, it is not Open Source. This means TrueCrypt’s code is licensed and requires permission to use and modify, stopping developers from creating a forked version.

TrueCrypt’s code is currently being audited [PDF] by a group of security researchers looking for backdoors. The program passed it’s first audit but a second audit is happening soon. This means TrueCrypt is currently still safe to use, but this could change as development for the program has ceased.

If you’re looking for a program to replace TrueCrypt, check out Ghack’s list of alternatives.

Source: Pastebin

Via: Ars Technica

Follow Lewis on Twitter @lewisleong

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