attr_encrypted¶ ↑

Generates attr_accessors that encrypt and decrypt attributes transparently

It works with ANY class, however, you get a few extra features when you’re using it with ActiveRecord, DataMapper, or Sequel

Installation¶ ↑

gem install attr_encrypted

Usage¶ ↑

Basic¶ ↑

Encrypting attributes has never been easier:

class User
  attr_accessor :name
  attr_encrypted :ssn, :key => 'a secret key'

  def load
    # loads the stored data
  end

  def save
    # saves the :name and :encrypted_ssn attributes somewhere (e.g. filesystem, database, etc)
  end
end

@user = User.new
@user.ssn = '123-45-6789'
@user.encrypted_ssn # returns the encrypted version of :ssn
@user.save

@user = User.load
@user.ssn # decrypts :encrypted_ssn and returns '123-45-6789'

The attr_encrypted method is also aliased as attr_encryptor to conform to Ruby’s attr_ naming conventions. I should have called this project attr_encryptor but it was too late when I realized it =‘(.

Specifying the encrypted attribute name¶ ↑

By default, the encrypted attribute name is encrypted_#{attribute} (e.g. attr_encrypted :email would create an attribute named encrypted_email). So, if you’re storing the encrypted attribute in the database, you need to make sure the encrypted_#{attribute} field exists in your table. You have a couple of options if you want to name your attribute something else.

The :attribute option¶ ↑

You can simply pass the name of the encrypted attribute as the :attribute option:

class User
  attr_encrypted :email, :key => 'a secret key', :attribute => 'email_encrypted'
end

This would generate an attribute named email_encrypted

The :prefix and :suffix options¶ ↑

If you’re planning on encrypting a few different attributes and you don’t like the encrypted_#{attribute} naming convention then you can specify your own:

class User
  attr_encrypted :email, :credit_card, :ssn, :key => 'a secret key', :prefix => 'secret_', :suffix => '_crypted'
end

This would generate the following attributes: secret_email_crypted, secret_credit_card_crypted, and secret_ssn_crypted.

Encryption keys¶ ↑

Although a :key option may not be required (see custom encryptor below), it has a few special features

Unique keys for each attribute