RA

How it works

• The organisation names the recovery agent in advance.
• Files encrypted afterward can also be opened with the agent's key.
• The agent's key must be protected as carefully as the owner's.
• With no agent and a lost key, the files may be gone for good.

What can go wrong (example scenario)

An employee left a firm after encrypting a project folder. The account was deleted, no recovery agent had been set up, and the folder could not be opened again.

How WILDCARD handles it

Password Manager keeps recovery keys in shared, encrypted vaults so they are available when someone needs them.

• A business names the owner as recovery agent for all encrypted laptops.
• A recovery key is stored in a shared vault before an employee goes on leave.
• An IT provider restores access to files after a staff member forgets a passphrase.

A question owners ask

What happens if nobody can unlock the files?

Without a recovery agent or saved recovery key, strong encryption usually cannot be broken, which is why the key needs a safe home before it is needed.