So you’ve decided that you want to have an offsite backup, and online backup is the way you want to go.
Many people look at the different options out there and make their decision on price or how pretty the website/software looks. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you are entrusting your sensitive information to a third party, you want to know that your data is protected.
Any cloud backup provider worth using should have a security page describing how they protect your data (if they don’t, that’s a good sign you should be looking elsewhere!).
For example, the service I personally use is Backblaze. They also have a security page, and there is another page specifically about encryption. You can even see how they design their storage pods.
When you’re evaluating online backup security, you want to look for things like:
- What encryption do they use, and is it “in transit” (just encrypted when you upload and download) or “at rest” (encrypted on their servers)?
- Can you use your own encryption keys?
- Who has access to your information?
- What certifications and compliance do they talk about?
If you use a different service, they should have a similar security page. Even if you don’t understand what the heck they are talking about, it is a good place to start asking questions from. If you feel like you are getting the runaround, it is time to start looking for another service.
(Photo by Janet McKnight)
