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Comment by ryanwaggoner | Hacker News Reader

This is a good point, and one that I hadn't considered. However, like you said, most of my docs probably also exist in the databases of companies and the government. Ultimately, it's not something I worry about that much; I'm probably more concerned with losing access to my documents than someone else gaining access to them.

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This is a very dangerous viewpoint. You should not ignore security simply because the data exists somewhere else. If data exists in multiple locations it is all the more reason to try and keep it safe.

Some simple steps can be taken to protect data integrity and security:

-Don't leave the data connected to the Internet 24/7.

-Power off the storage medium when you are done with it.

-Keep it in a physically safe location when not in use.

-Encrypt the data or the volume.

-Have a backup of your backup on a different medium and if possible different location.

-Don't advertise the data.

These are activities which are easy to set up and can help insure a more pleasant digital lifestyle. You could go to more extremes but then it becomes invasive. Not worrying about it much because you find it unlikely or just don't care is bad. Not worrying about it much is what you want to do because you have taken the important but easy steps to keep yourself safe.

You're missing my point. It's not that I'm ignoring security; I was responding to JabavuAdams' pointing out that if someone accesses my electronic records, I likely wouldn't know about it, while I'd find out if someone broke into my home and accessed my physical records. Since there are other places that my data can be accessed electronically, it seems short-sighted to avoid digitizing my copies to avoid undetectable access to my documents, since that can happen anyway.

Having said that, I really am not worried about someone accessing most of these documents, and certainly not enough to go through the hassles of what you outline in your comment. If someone wants to go through the hassle of breaching my security so they can pour through my phone records for the last five years, or peer at my receipts for lunch at the restaurant around the corner, they're welcome to. What exactly are we worried about here?

You mentioned rental properties (mortgage docs?), tax papers, both of which likely have SSN's, maybe you have credit card numbers and bank acct numbers in these pdfs. I'd think you'd want this stuff encrypted. Thanks for a great post though, I'm totally inspired.

Meh. I was in the military, so my SSN has been spread far and wide. Plus I probably get 2-3 letters a year from companies who managed to lose this info. I keep an eye on my credit report for issues, but nothing so far.

Credit cards and bank account numbers are slightly more of an issue, but in the US your liability for theft from these sources is quite limited, even if you disclose the info. Plus, my bank account number is on the bottom of every check I write. What kind of scheme is that, anyway?

Don't get me wrong, I shred any paperwork with personal info, and I use encrypted services for backups, etc. But I don't lose any sleep over the worst case scenario of someone gaining access to this data.

One difference between the threat model of the original query and your response is that if someone hacks into BigCo and accesses the digital records between you an BigCo then they know about all of your transactions with BigCo. If they hack your home document system then they know about your transactions with BigCo and with every other company you have ever done business with. The level of paranoid protection being suggested is probably not warranted, but unless you can think of a good reason why you would need to access these docs remotely it is probably a good idea to keep the drive with this data separated by an air gap from your systems when it is not in use...

Encryption can help here.

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