I run a small business and I'm looking for advice on how to encrypt files on my hard drive to protect sensitive information, like my employees' social security numbers. Right now, I keep all my important documents on my computer's hard drive and use Backblaze for backups. I'm the only one with access to my login details, but I've only ever worked in larger businesses that managed this security for me. What steps can I take to safeguard my documents further? Should I go for drive encryption? If so, how do I do that? Thanks!
4 Answers
Definitely back up your files to an external drive before you start the encryption. Just in case anything goes wrong, you'll want a copy of everything handy. It’s always better to be safe!
Remember, when you use BitLocker, you'll need to set a password and will also get a recovery key. Save these safely—maybe even print them out and store a copy in a safe place. You also want to ensure you have backups stored securely, and check any local laws regarding sensitive data handling, like GDPR if you're in the EU.
If you're on a Windows system, BitLocker is a great built-in option for drive encryption. Just note that it's available on Windows 10 and 11 Pro versions, while Windows 10 and 11 Home have a similar feature called Device Encryption. You can check which version you have in your settings!
I’ll make sure to check if BitLocker is on my version tomorrow.
If you haven't already, consider looking into robust backup solutions beyond just your primary hard drive. Encrypted backups can add an extra layer of security for your sensitive information.
Thanks for the heads up! I might be using the Home edition, so I'll have to look into Device Encryption instead.