Should we be encrypting backups?

We all know that data protection regulations are gaining teeth. As we discussed before, it is becoming more difficult to keep data losses private, and the damage to reputation and other penalties incurred following data breaches are now significant.

Data protection laws in particular are being tightened up, with the potential for large financial penalties to be imposed for the loss or leakage of data. Fines may come not only from general data protection bodies, but also individual industry regulators in verticals such as financial services or healthcare. Data breach notification laws, pioneered very effectively by California, are planned for Europe. These have shown that the real cost of a data loss is the clean-up afterwards. Companies suffer from the loss of reputation and trust in a brand, as well as having to foot the bill for fraud monitoring, credit protection and possible recompense for those people affected.