Data Backup Encryption - Know How To Protect Yourself

It's common sense that the personal or business data found on computers and networks everywhere, which cost its owners precious time and money to acquire, is very valuable and unquestionably should be protected from loss. It should also be common sense that the data designated for storage and protection should be encrypted to secure it from being misused if stolen by unauthorized users. Unfortunately, many companies that use, for example, tapes for data backup, do not encrypt their stored data. This practice is akin to placing valuables in a safe, but leaving the door unlocked. Data backup encryption is a must for full data protection.

The two most common acronyms you should understand in relation to the function of data backup encryption are AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Secure Socket Layer encryption refers to the encryption of data as it is transferred over the Internet. The Advanced Encryption Standard applies to data in storage. SSL and AES encryption are used in tandem for online backup, in which data is copied and transmitted from its original server to a secure server in a remote location.

AES encryption is also used for tape backup. For example, LTO-4 tape (fourth-generation Linear Tape-Open, the open alternative to DLT, Digital Linear Tape) supports AES 256-bit encryption on tape drives. Another acronym associated with tape backup encryption is IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The IEEE issues standards expressly for tape technology. Its latest tape technology standard, IEEE 1619.1, is adhered to by the LTO-4 technology.

In-depth understanding of backup encryption requires knowledge of complex technological jargon and processes. In layman's terms, backup encryption uses a code to convert data into a format that is unreadable without a key. For example, if I were to write a message and convert each letter to the number of its place in the alphabet, I am creating a code (The correct technical term is cipher or algorithm). The key would be the piece of paper or other medium stating 1=a, 2=b, 3=c, etc. Of course, with computer data backup encryption, ciphers and keys are digital and far more complex. For example, even a supercomputer would take 149 trillion years to decipher an AES 128-bit encryption.

Backup encryption of data serves as a safeguard in the rare but serious event that anterior levels of building or Internet security are breached and data stored on tapes or the Web falls into the wrong hands. To ensure maximum protection of data, it should be encrypted and stored either online in a secure server in a remote location, or on tape. (Data already recorded on tapes can still be encrypted after the fact.) Too many companies have learned the hard way for anyone not to know now that backup encryption is a necessity. Source: Onlinedatabackupinc dot com, Louis Zhang