Learn which method is potentially safer, and what you need to do to mitigate the risks.
Episode #12-32 released on April 15, 2022
Watch on Youtube
Download MP3 Audio
There are definitely plenty of horror stories of sending files over the Internet, and via the mail, but the question is, which method is potentially safer for you.
Let us start with mail. You can send optical discs, hard drives, memory cards, etc. all by mail. It is possible to get tracking, so for the most part, you know where the package is headed. If you look up the effects of x-ray scanners, it appears to have very little effect on hard drives, optical discs, and memory cards. The biggest issues would be physical damage, theft or the package being lost. This would mean that you would have to maintain a backup of whatever you are sending, just in case. Because those files would not be insurable, only the physical goods the data is stored on.
The alternative is sending the files by Internet. If you have the access to cloud drives that are large enough, you stand to be able to send quite a bit more data than by mail, and for a lot less. However, the cloud service has to use encryption to protect your files otherwise anyone can see the files as they are moved from one location online to another.
Encrypted communications may not be enough in some cases if the cloud service or account become compromised. The only defense to that is file encryption that uses a strong and complicated key that only the sender and recipient know. Provided the encryption use is strong, and the key itself too, the data should be relatively safe until the encryption becomes obsolete and the encryption becomes crack able. That is right, it will happen. Once day, it will become easily cracked, as well as end to end encryption, which means what we are looking for is encryption to last long enough that the data encoded is obsolete and useless.
Now, sending files over storage media by mail has the same risks as sending files over the unencrypted Internet. If the mail is stolen, the data can be retrieved. The only way to protect data theft is the encrypt the media entirely, the data itself, or both. While the media it is sent on is always going to be at risk of being damaged, stolen or lost, at least for a time, while the media and files are encrypted, it is safer than if you just sent the data unencrypted.
Now, the question was if it was safer to send files by mail or via Internet. The issue is going to be the same problem, the man in the middle. Mail theft is common, and so are cyber-attacks. It comes down to which is least expensive. And it is possible that bringing the files yourself may be the safest way to transport files, provided that is cost effective. Eventually, the media choice and weight will increase the cost, and at one point, depending on where the files are heading, it may be better to send via Internet. However, in all cases, encrypt data.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net