Selecting the encryption media

You can encrypt the data that is stored on tape media to prevent the theft of personal customer information or confidential data if the media is lost or stolen. The first step is to select the encrypting media that you want to use.

You can encrypt backups on tape and virtual tape media only. However, you cannot encrypt backups on optical, virtual optical, or disk media.

You can perform an encrypted backup using software encryption with Backup, Recovery, Media, and Services (BRMS), or using a tape device that supports hardware encryption. Consider these factors in making your decision about your encryption media and method:

Choose the software encryption method if you want a low-cost solution. This solution is ideal for backing up individual objects that contain customers' personal information or confidential data. Customers with sufficient system resources and a large enough backup window also can encrypt the backup without impacting their business. You can use any tape drive or tape library model with software encryption. However, the performance is not as good as using hardware encryption.
Choose the hardware encryption method using an encrypting tape drive if you want the best performance for doing save and restore operations, especially a full-system save or restore operation. You do not need host-based encryption of data or the use of specialized encryption appliances to use the encrypting tape drive.