We are frequently asked, “Can nuBridges Protect help me with backup tape encryption?” The answer is “Yes!” And in a really elegant way that strikes the perfect balance between security and convenience.

When you make backup or archive copies of systems, applications, databases or files, you’re making copies of any sensitive data in those systems applications and files. As a result:

• You need to be sure the sensitive data is protected just as securely as the production version.
• You have more keys to manage and secure; and because the copies are “out of sight, out of mind” it’s very easy to lose track of them. If you lose the keys, you’ve really lost the data as well.
• You need to be able to readily unlock the data in the event of a disaster, a recovery event, an audit event or a forensics event.

Many organizations have implemented separate technologies for encrypting production data versus backup/archive copies.    Often the keys are stored with the backup/archive copies because organizations can’t think of another practical way to ensure the data can be unlocked if needed – this is a major violation of data security best practices (and in some cases, makes you non-compliant with mandates and regulations). 

With nuBridges Protect, one technology handles it all!  It eliminates some steps in the process, making you more efficient and effective.   And it stores the keys in a centralized key vault, separate from the data.

So How Does it Work?

Simply use nuBridges Protect to encrypt, hash or mask the production data – credit card numbers, social security numbers, intellectual property, financial data, health care information, etc. Then make your backup or archive copies using the same backup and archive processes you use across your enterprise – of course, the copies inherit the protected data, not clear text, so the data is automatically protected.

And here’s the most important part – nuBridges Protect will hold the keys for the backup/archive copies in its centralized key vault; ready for an authorized request to unlock the backup or archive data down the road. All keys for production and backed up and archived data are managed in one centralized, secure infrastructure. Our intelligent backup media key management eliminates the need to manually track keys, and allows you to utilize expired keys from tapes that have been stored for an extended period of time. Because the nuBridges Protect Key Manager can handle an infinite number of keys, it can handle all backup media encryption without the need to pull tapes and re-encrypt with new keys once a key has expired. The key manager intelligently identifies the right keys so you can decrypt restored data.

nuBridges Protect offers a new strategy for data protection. Encrypt sensitive data right at its production source and you’ve eliminated a tremendous amount of risk (and eliminated all the additional technologies and processes you’ve implemented to mitigate that risk).

Encryption is the only effective means of making certain that others can’t read the information on tapes in the event they are lost, stolen or compromised. Clearly, encryption is emerging as the foundation for data protection and is quickly becoming the cornerstone of data security best practice. It’s the last line of defense. Even if perimeter security is breached, encryption means the data remains worthless unless it can be unlocked. Centralized, full-lifecycle key management adds control, availability, compliance and convenience.

Contact nuBridges to learn more – we’d be delighted to answer your questions regarding Backup Tape Encryption, show you the capabilities of nuBridges Protect, and propose a module set tailored specifically to your business needs and technology ecosystem.