Re:Key Management (Score 1)

You can just as easily lock the data in a safe. If you encrypt the data and lock the key in a safe, what's the difference? There is none.

There is a very real difference. You now only have to protect a very small secret - the key(s)) instead of lots and lots of back up media.

Back up tapes can be sent to an offsite storage place without worrying about data being found if they are stolen. Or they can be kept with a low level of security in the office or in an employees home.

Similarly for a laptop: laptops get stolen. But if the key/password is kept in your wallet/pocket/memory, then the data is a lot more secure, because the password is far less likely to get stolen.

A few keys/long passwords are far easier to keep securely than lots of tapes. A few copies could be made. A copy kept in a safe on site (for ease of access normally). And a copy kept in a security deposit box in a bank - for real catastrophes. Or in more than one place.

There is a trade off between ease of restoration and security of the keys, but it is a lot easier to manage with keys than with tapes.