Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to encryption lifecycle management. In aspects, an orchestrating agent is installed on a device upon which encryption management is desired. During the lifecycle of the device, the orchestrating agent facilitates performing actions to protect the data of the device. For example, at certain points during the actions, the orchestrating agent may deduce the presence of external entities needed to perform the actions and interact with those entities to protect the data. During its facilitating activities, the orchestrating agent may also escrow protector data to use to unlock the data for legitimate stakeholders of the data.