So Many People Are Asking — Is Carbonite Backup Safe?

“I have very important files stored on my computer – how safe really is Carbonite Backup?” This is a common concern I hear from many home users who are interested to try online backup and I assure them that there’s nothing to worry about.

It’s understandable for us to be concerned since once we subscribe to this service, Carbonite already keeps a backup copy of all the data we have on our computers, from the “obsolete” files of so long ago to the most sensitive and current ones we have. And with the internet fair game for just about any type of identity theft and scam, it’s safest to be always on guard.

While anything is possible however, with Carbonite Online, the chances of your files ever being leaked to unscrupulous individuals are next to nothing. Carbonite’s servers are technologically equipped and professionally run so as to ensure the highest security for the billions of files stored in them. Still, it’s one thing saying that Carbonite is safe and another thing to actually explain what makes it so. Here are the many layers of security that your data passes through:

First, your data goes through a 448-bit Blowfish encryption even before it is transferred to Carbonite’s servers. It’s mind-boggling to even think about the mathematics involved in this but suffice it to say that this is an encryption method that is very secure and has never been broken.

Then, as soon as your data is transmitted to Carbonite, it passes through another encryption using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Again, this is another extremely reliable protocol that is commonly used to provide security and data integrity especially for data transfers over the internet.

With these two encryptions, it’s virtually impossible to steal your files while in transit to Carbonite’s servers. Now, you may ask — how about when it gets there or while in storage?

This is a valid point but you have to remember that your data is still encrypted while being stored. Of course, Carbonite does manage the encryption keys for you. These encryptions keys are necessary to decode your data when you need them. All customers’ encryption keys are further stored in a database, which is encrypted itself with only few reliable employees in Carbonite having access to the keys.

It’s difficult to even just imagine the encryption and security measures that your files go through while being transferred and stored in Carbonite’s servers but the bottomline is clear: no ordinary Carbonite employee can gain access to your data. Besides, the mere thought of “rummaging” through 25 billion (yes, billion!) encrypted files is enough to daunt anybody.

So if you’re worried about the safety of your data backed up online through Carbonite don’t be! If you ask me, you should be more worried about not doing online backup for your files.