New Demands And Requirements For Tape Encryption

In spite of a series of embarrassing "tape loss" headlines in 2005, most companies continue to turn their backs on backup encryption. Why? Most storage professionals still think that backup encryption will lead to new costs, performance problems, and recovery headaches so they continue to turn a blind eye toward the problem.

ESG believes things are about to change to radically upset the backup encryption status quo. This white paper concludes:

• Backup encryption will move from the storage fringes into the mainstream. Over the next few years, a combination of new privacy regulations, security threats and technology offerings will inspire large organizations to embrace backup encryption.
• Users must learn that backup encryption goes beyond scrambling data. As encryption becomes more routine, firms must look past cryptographic operations and consider things like key management, easeof- use, role-based access control, and key protection.
• Spectra Logic's BlueScale Encryption solution is in the right place at the right time. Spectra Logic's recent entry into backup encryption is worth noting. The company has done a good job of matching security protection with management requirements and existing backup operations.