Why is backup en­cryp­tion important?

Backup en­cryp­tion protects your data from un­au­thor­ised access and ransom­ware attacks. You can use software, hardware or cloud solutions to encrypt backups.

Why is backup en­cryp­tion important for data security?

When paired with a robust backup strategy, regular backups are in­valu­able for quickly restoring files or a system if data loss occurs. With online backup services, you can access your data at any time and from anywhere, which is es­pe­cially be­ne­fi­cial if there is an emergency. But how secure are backups and should they be encrypted?

The purpose of en­cryp­tion is to protect your data from illegal access and misuse. Different en­cryp­tion methods can help you to not only achieve a high level of security, but also retain sole control over your personal data. Backup en­cryp­tion is es­pe­cially useful if you need to safeguard con­fid­en­tial or business data.

What are the pros and cons of en­crypt­ing backups?

With the right en­cryp­tion software, backup en­cryp­tion is easy and can offer numerous benefits:

• Data security: En­crypt­ing backups protects your data from un­au­thor­ised access attempts. In the un­for­tu­nate event that a backup is stolen, en­cryp­tion ensures that the encrypted data can’t be read or, in the case of identity theft, used.
• Pro­tec­tion against ransom­ware: With backup en­cryp­tion, you can also ensure that your data stays protected if your system is infected with ransom­ware.
• Com­pli­ance re­quire­ments: In certain in­dus­tries, there are special data pro­tec­tion and com­pli­ance re­quire­ments. This can be the case, for example, if you work in a field where you are required to sign non-dis­clos­ure agree­ments (NDA). En­crypt­ing backups helps busi­nesses meet such re­quire­ments and avoid potential breaches of contracts, which can result in con­trac­tu­al or legal con­sequences.

There are, however, certain dis­ad­vant­ages to en­crypt­ing backups:

• Com­plex­ity: En­crypt­ing a backup requires effort and technical know-how. You’ll also need a way to safely store and manage your en­cryp­tion key, which can be somewhat complex.
• Com­prom­ised per­form­ance: En­crypt­ing backups increases the amount of time it takes to back up and restore data, es­pe­cially if you are pro­cessing large amounts of data. Ad­di­tion­ally, the de­cryp­tion process during data recovery can also take up time and hardware resources.
• Lost key: If you lose your en­cryp­tion key, your backup cannot be restored. That’s why it’s extremely important to have a reliable method for managing and storing keys.

What backup en­cryp­tion methods are there?

There are different ways to encrypt backups that let you reliably protect your data. You can choose from en­cryp­tion software, hardware with built-in en­cryp­tion cap­ab­il­it­ies, or a cloud-based en­cryp­tion solution.

Backup en­cryp­tion using software

Many backup software solutions already have a built-in en­cryp­tion feature. The major advantage of this is that en­cryp­tion is already seam­lessly in­teg­rated into the backup process, elim­in­at­ing the need for ad­di­tion­al software. It’s important, however, to make sure that the en­cryp­tion al­gorithms used in the backup software are strong and secure.

With operating system-in­teg­rated backup tools like Time Machine for Mac and File History for Windows, it’s re­l­at­ively easy to create in­cre­ment­al backups. While Time Machine col­lab­or­ates with FileVault to encrypt backups created on Mac, per­form­ing backup en­cryp­tion with File History on Windows can take a little bit longer. Another advantage of Time Machine is that encrypted backups can be stored on network-attached storage (NAS)

Backup en­cryp­tion using hardware

Some storage devices, such as external hard drives, have built-in hardware en­cryp­tion cap­ab­il­it­ies. These are called hardware security modules (HSMs). With en­cryp­tion being performed directly on the device and data stored in an encrypted format, HSMs offer a high level of security. Ad­di­tion­ally, the key is also stored on the storage device and cannot be easily extracted.

Cloud-based end-to-end backup en­cryp­tion

Cloud storage provides a con­veni­ent way to securely store backups, allowing you to com­fort­ably access your data from anywhere at any time. However, when selecting a provider, it’s important to choose one that offers end-to-end backup en­cryp­tion. A commonly used security protocol for end-to-end en­cryp­tion is TLS. If you create your backup in an un­en­cryp­ted cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive, you do not have full control over who can see or access your data.

One cloud service provider that offers end-to-end en­cryp­tion (E2EE) is IONOS HiDrive. The pro package of the cloud storage provider includes E2EE. For other packages, users need to ad­di­tion­ally purchase end-to-end en­cryp­tion. This feature ensures that data is encrypted on a local device before being uploaded to the cloud. Only the account holder has access to the de­cryp­tion key, ensuring that the backup is encrypted end to end and is safe in the cloud.

What other measures can I take to secure my backups?

In order to make your backups more secure, you can also carry out the following measures:

• Choose a secure server location: Make sure that your backed up data is stored on servers that are secure or in certified data centres. It’s best to go with service providers that are located in regions that have stricter data privacy laws and security standards.
• Implement multi-factor au­then­tic­a­tion (MFA): Set up multi-factor au­then­tic­a­tion for your backups. With an MFA, an ad­di­tion­al au­then­tic­a­tion factor such as a one-time password app or an SMS is required in order to access your backup account. By including an MFA in the login process, you can sig­ni­fic­antly reduce the chances of someone accessing your account who is not au­thor­ised to do so. In contrast to two-factor au­then­tic­a­tion, MFA uses a com­bin­a­tion of two or more au­then­tic­a­tion factors, giving you the pos­sib­il­ity to add an extra layer of security.
• Check access per­mis­sions: Regularly check access rights to make sure only au­thor­ised users can access your backup data. Make sure to also regularly remove or de­ac­tiv­ate user accounts that should no longer have access to backup data.
• Conduct data recovery tests: Regularly test if backed up data is restored correctly and without any in­form­a­tion missing. This way, you’ll be able to see if your backup strategy is working properly and if you will be able to access your data should an emergency occur.