3 ms·

Couldn't you just NOT encrypt your tape backups?

monocasa 5y ago
Practically you don't want to do that. You want them to be useless to someone who steals a tape since it could be a long time to never before you realize it's gone. All the tapes on the shelf look alike.
- Damogran6 5y ago
  And it probably contains ALL your secrets. Financials, Staff, R&D, Data encumbered by Federal Standards requirements...
  - worik 5y ago
    Encrypt some files. Encrypting the complete backup is working against the purpose of backups, making it harder for a small, if existent, gain in security
    - monocasa 5y ago
      No, you encrypt at the tape drives themselves typically. Part of how they work is the also compress at the drive, but if you encrypt first there's no common entropy and the compression techniques work against you. And picking and choosing is a recipe for disaster when something inevitably slips through and is leaked. Encrypt it all from orbit and let god sort it out.
- PakG1 5y ago
  Since the tapes are physical, can't you protect them using different strategies? Like how banks protect stuff contained in safe deposit boxes? I imagine the stuff stored in safe deposit boxes can be quite sensitive too.
  - lmm 5y ago
    The insurance limit for a safe deposit box is surprisingly low. There just isn't a way to protect them well enough for really valuable things.
    - roywiggins 5y ago
      That and banks don't seem to really try very hard nowadays, at least for retail customers. Maybe rich people have access to a better class of safe deposit boxes. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box-theft.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box... https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/safe-deposit-box-theft-missing-items-wells-fargo-bank/2112715/ https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/safe-deposit-box-theft-mi... https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/widow-heartbroken-after-rbs-lose-25096477 https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/widow-heart...
  - monocasa 5y ago
    That's Iron Mountain's main business model, but it's considered good form not to leave it to them. Shit happens, and tape drives make it super easy to encrypt anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mountain_(company)#Data_losses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mountain_(company)#Data_l...
- gopher_space 5y ago
  If you’ve been physically penned aren’t you just rolling dice from then on anyway? A financial org I worked for back in the day planned on slagging hardware in the event of a coloc breach of any sort including fire response. How else could you be sure?
  - monocasa 5y ago
    You generally send tapes off to another company like Iron Mountain. They have lost tapes before.

Practically you don't want to do that. You want them to be useless to someone who steals a tape since it could be a long time to never before you realize it's gone. All the tapes on the shelf look alike.

Damogran6 5y ago
And it probably contains ALL your secrets. Financials, Staff, R&D, Data encumbered by Federal Standards requirements...
- worik 5y ago
  Encrypt some files. Encrypting the complete backup is working against the purpose of backups, making it harder for a small, if existent, gain in security
  - monocasa 5y ago
    No, you encrypt at the tape drives themselves typically. Part of how they work is the also compress at the drive, but if you encrypt first there's no common entropy and the compression techniques work against you. And picking and choosing is a recipe for disaster when something inevitably slips through and is leaked. Encrypt it all from orbit and let god sort it out.
PakG1 5y ago
Since the tapes are physical, can't you protect them using different strategies? Like how banks protect stuff contained in safe deposit boxes? I imagine the stuff stored in safe deposit boxes can be quite sensitive too.
- lmm 5y ago
  The insurance limit for a safe deposit box is surprisingly low. There just isn't a way to protect them well enough for really valuable things.
  - roywiggins 5y ago
    That and banks don't seem to really try very hard nowadays, at least for retail customers. Maybe rich people have access to a better class of safe deposit boxes. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box-theft.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box... https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/safe-deposit-box-theft-missing-items-wells-fargo-bank/2112715/ https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/safe-deposit-box-theft-mi... https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/widow-heartbroken-after-rbs-lose-25096477 https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/widow-heart...
- monocasa 5y ago
  That's Iron Mountain's main business model, but it's considered good form not to leave it to them. Shit happens, and tape drives make it super easy to encrypt anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mountain_(company)#Data_losses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mountain_(company)#Data_l...
gopher_space 5y ago
If you’ve been physically penned aren’t you just rolling dice from then on anyway? A financial org I worked for back in the day planned on slagging hardware in the event of a coloc breach of any sort including fire response. How else could you be sure?
- monocasa 5y ago
  You generally send tapes off to another company like Iron Mountain. They have lost tapes before.