Beware of remote backup in other countries: only transfer and save data encrypted
Delft / Düsseldorf, 30 November 2009 .- backup data from foreign providers, can become expensive: For the availability of data and their protection against loss and misuse, the data owner is responsible. Within the EU, the same provisions as domestic ones apply. In case of questions, the European Commission helps.
"For privacy reasons, backups must be secured not only the storage but also the transport of data," said Cyriel Jacobs, CEO of CrashPlan.nl Pro Backup. "When backing up abroad, the transport medium in general is the Internet: the connection must be protected, via VPN, or at least by SSL encryption." Only if there is an adequate level of protection it is likely that backup data may be stored abroad.
"The data owner is responsible for the security of data," says Jacobs. "These are for member states of the EU the same rules as for the transmission within the country." Jacobs recommends that you select a backup provider that can provide data encryption. Moreover, he should be able to demonstrate safety processes that prevent intrusions, and to inform his client without delay, in case of possible data theft.
Another criterion is the availability of backups: a disruption of the internet, the connection to the remote server, and the abroad server itself, all accumulate, reducing the data availability on your own system drastically.
"When in doubt, the European Commission helps to determine whether there is adequate protection," said Jacobs. "Especially with a remote backup to non-EU countries, I would strongly advise doing so." Finally, the data is subject to the privacy laws of each foreign land - and this country could have its own ideas. For example, in some countries, national security ranks over the protection of personal data. "I would not take sensitive data, for example, in the U.S.."
Information from the European Commission for the Protection of personal data to third countries:
Vorsicht bei Remote-Backup im Ausland: Daten nur verschlüsselt übertragen und speichern Opletten bij online back-uppen naar het buitenland