TheLaptopJunction

As with all the effort to secure information on a laptop harddisk, having insecure backups can easily expose data not meant for others. Theft or lost  DVD / CD backups or worse, USB backup disks, while traveling can expose a large amount of data to others. And if it's worthless information, a backup would not make sense anyhow.

Usually it's about pictures, travel documents, travel reports, copies of official papers or worse bank statements, copies of ATM cards and as one of the worst, creditcard numbers.

Luckily most professional backup software like Norton Ghost or Nero have the option to encrypt backup files with a key. Although it's not the best encryption there is, it makes it a bit harder to easily access files inside backups.

Data backups get more complex when programs like Safeboot or Disk level encryption is used. Basically, the resulting Driveimage (Norton Ghost) or backup (Nero) is as insecure as the raw information on the encrypted disk. The encryption Norton Ghost or Nero use are childplay with the kind of encryption Safeboot offers.

For traveling - loss of drive image backups are sort of a calculated risk. When used in combination with TrueCrypt archives minimizes risk. Loss of bulk storage like USB disks or DVD's is another risk dimension. Also here TrueCrypt archives can reduce risks.