A system receives data of one or more types from one or more sources having distinct identities for storing the data in a distributed storage system. The system stores metadata associated with storing the data in data structures in the distributed storage system. The system selects a portion of the data and a portion of the metadata associated with storing the data in the distributed storage system. The system compresses the selected portions of the data and the metadata, encrypts the compressed data and metadata using a single key or using a separate key for each data type, and stores the encrypted compressed data and metadata in the distributed storage system. The system also encrypts unencrypted metadata and associated data during defragmentation procedure.