Conclusion

In this chapter we explored a case of data loss—from the perspective of both benign and malicious intent. In the benign case, a computer or other store of data is lost, damaged, or broken, so it is impossible to access the stored data; in this case the best countermeasure is preventive: Copy the data before an accident occurs. In the other perspective, however, not only are the files lost, but they have also fallen into malicious hands. The proactive backup ensures you continued access, but encryption means the intruder does not necessarily gain access. These countermeasures need to be applied before the loss, however.

The key points from this chapter are these: