What to look for in a secure online backup service?
Of course, looking at things like storage space, price and flexibility are all keys to find the backup service in a straight line, but one of the main factors that you should include in your search is safety. Not only is it important that your files are safe, but also all the personal information you could store your backup service, so you do not become a victim of identity theft.
so how do you know if an online backup service is secure? We talked to David Sun, Chairman of the systems SUNBLOCK a computer forensic investigations medicine company that deals with data loss and compromise for individuals and Fortune 500 companies, to know what he wants.
"When evaluating a provider for online storage, it is important to consider the types of encryption and data protection they offer, "Sun said. "Beware the global security is important, but the encryption method is the most critical part."
This is largely due to the different ways an online backup account can be hacked. Of course, there is the possibility of hackers attacking out of your account, but there is also the possibility that rogue employees to the online backup company could hack your account. Depending on what you're storing, it could determine which service you choose.
"If the data are not very valuable, so maybe the convenience of leaving the supplier manage the encryption key is ok," said Sun. "If the data is more valuable, then it is probably best for the user to hold the key themselves and keep it safe."
We believe these services are the safest of all online backup services on there and we hope you will consider when making your decision.
SpiderOak: SpiderOak is known for having one of the safest online backup service. Their whole system was built with security as a primary objective. In addition to enhanced security, they offer practically all the same services as most of their competitors, such as synchronization, file sharing and cross-platform compatibility.
SpiderOak protection begins from the moment you generate a password. Unlike most services, where you create your password, then it is sent to corporate servers, SpiderOak lets you create password on your own desktop and encrypts a key function Advanced bypass, keeping completely your secret password. The wrong side? With an encrypted password, you are entirely responsible to remember the password, like SpiderOak employees can not access or any of your information.
Once you start downloading your documents on the SpiderOak servers, your information will be one of the most comprehensive encryption processes available in the online backup industry. SpiderOak uses a combination layered 2048-bit RSA and 256-bit AES encryption. External files are never stored as text; they are encrypted with AES 256 bits, using a key created by the key derivation / strengthening PBKDF2 algorithm (using sha256), with 16384 revolutions and 32 bytes of random data ( "salt"). This approach prevents brute force and pre-calculation or database attacks against the key.
Clearly, this means that when you look at the files without the encryption password, the files will be unreadable. However, once you plug in your password, the file then returns to plain text. This highly advanced encryption, it is almost impossible for someone to access your information without your password. Even with physical access to your computer, the information that appears is encrypted until a password is presented. SpiderOak makes it one of the safest systems available.
Mozy Mozy does not offer the same protection by password SpiderOak, but he has great protection and great overall service with all the key features you expect in a high the online backup service. Mozy refers to its security service as Tritanium. Safety starts on your computer before the file is transferred. When a file is saved, it goes through AES encryption "Military Grade". From there, the file is then submitted to a 256-bit AES encryption before traveling through an encrypted SSL tunnel for transferring files. You can also add a key 448-bit Blowfish encryption option. Once all encryption is complete, you can manage by choosing a managed key, personal key, or a custom business key. These keys will help you sort through all the information so that when you need to access files, they will be in their original format.
Since Mozy handles storage of customer data, safety is their main concern. Mozy recently completed a SSAE 16 SOC 1 Type 2 audit and received ISO 27001 certification Very few backup services take time to undergo an SSAE 16 audit, so you know Mozy is serious about protecting .
Carbonite Carbonite is known for their exceptionally well-balanced service offering essentially everything you could imagine an online backup storage service would provide. Carbonite offers what they call security "Bank-Level". This includes their highly secure encryption, enterprise-class servers, highly secure data centers and management of personal cryptographic keys. Like some of the other services that we examined, Carbonite protects your files with Blowfish 128-bit encryption. Files are encrypted while remaining on your computer, then they are sent to a state-of-the-art data center using Secure Socket Layer (SSL), which is often used to protect transactions in e-commerce. To protect your mechanical failure files, Carbonite backs up your files on the enterprise-class hard drives. These discs hold multiple files of your information in the chance that one of the drives fails, allowing you to replace in real time. These servers are protected in highly secure data centers Carbonite, which are protected by encryption and security 24/7 365 days a year. In addition to all this, Carbonite also gives you the ability to manage your own encryption key for added security. The only downside of managing your own keys is that you can not access your files through devices such as smartphones iPhone®, Android ™ or BlackBerry®.
This is our favorite cloud storage and online backup services, but if you have your own favorite service, make sure they have some of the same security features in place so that you know that your files and information is properly protected.