Talk to Me About Data Security

[anthrobirthnerd]

The time is fast approaching that I start my fieldwork and I'm working on pulling together the materials to actually ensure the kind of data security described in my IRB. I'm conducting interviews that will be audiorecorded, probably via Livescribe (the non-wifi enabled version for maximum security), with a back up on a second audiorecorder. All files will temporarily be kept on a USB drive and then transferred to an external hard drive. Once de-identified and transcribed, they'll be moved onto my computer's main drive and my analysis software. Participant ID key, consent forms, and hard copy notes need to be kept in a locked file cabinet. Before I go off to buy all these things (yay for grants!), does anyone have specific recommendations? I'll be using a Mac and would like additional password protection on both the USB drive and the external drive. I'm also looking for the most affordable but still secure locking file cabinet. Most of the file storage on Amazon is more than $75, with cheaper options having major ratings for flimsy. I can spend as much as $75 but don't want to overspend.

 

Thank you!

[rising_star]

TrueCrypt would probably be a good way to secure your files that doesn't cost money. You'd want them to be encrypted on both the USB and the external hard drive. I'd also check with others in your department have done as there's likely a data management protocol that others at your institution have successfully used.

 

One concern you should be prepared to address is what you will do if either the USB, Livescribe, backup recorder, or external HD is lost or stolen (as in, your bag containing the drive is stolen, your house is broken into, etc.). Yes, this is a worst case scenario but it has happened to more than one person that I know... 

 

Will you be recording any notes by hand during interviews? If so, you'll need a plan for those too (which likely involves keeping them in a separate location from where the consent forms are). 

[lewin]

TrueCrypt would probably be a good way to secure your files that doesn't cost money. You'd want them to be encrypted on both the USB and the external hard drive. I'd also check with others in your department have done as there's likely a data management protocol that others at your institution have successfully used.

 

There were some concerns about TrueCrypt raised last year and the developers abandoned the project but, realistically, unless you're hiding data from the NSA I suspect it's still fine.

 

 

 

One concern you should be prepared to address is what you will do if either the USB, Livescribe, backup recorder, or external HD is lost or stolen (as in, your bag containing the drive is stolen, your house is broken into, etc.). Yes, this is a worst case scenario but it has happened to more than one person that I know... 

 

 

 

For cloud backup I use SpiderOak, which purports to be completely client-side encrypted so that it's impossible for them to access your files. I also use BTSync instead of dropbox to keep files synced between my work and home laptops. Advantages: free, storage limited only by your harddrive size, nothing's in the cloud. Disadvantage: Both computers must be turned on simultaneously to sync.

 

I think encrypted file containers using TrueCrypt synced via BTSync to two computers in two physical locations would be pretty darn safe and secure, especially with the raw original data locked away somewhere else on a physical drive. 

[avflinsch]

What you have planned is pretty good, since you are using a Mac, you can just use the filevault encryption on your external drive and be just fine. Just don't do what my daughter did - she forgot the passcode that she used to do the encryption - fortunately she had an additional backup that was unencrypted locked away.