# Encrypt stl
**URL:** https://discourse.vtk.org/t/encrypt-stl/5672
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [April 30, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/encrypt-stl/5672 "2021-04-30T09:56:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@zandarina](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/zandarina)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/encrypt-stl/5672/1 "2021-04-30T09:56:35Z")
Hello,
I have a doubt, I have a database with stls you can use in the software and select them and the vtk reads the stl. But everybody that has the software, can copy the stls. Is there something in vtk, to encrypt it to read it and write it but encrypted?.
Thank you
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### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2021, 1:35pm UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/encrypt-stl/5672/2 "2021-04-30T13:35:17Z")
VTK has no encryption layer in it. Some other layers would need to be added somewhere (given VTK’s penchant for reading directly from files, an encrypted filesystem is probably the easiest way).
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### Author:  [@zandarina](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/zandarina)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2021, 8:48am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/encrypt-stl/5672/3 "2021-05-04T08:48:56Z")
Thanks so I imagine that the vtkSTLReader class must be changed to read encripted files. And compile the vtk again. Thank you very much