Stolen tapes - need to know about data backup format

[179304655]

One of our customers recently had their backup tapes stolen. Since data encryption isn't a setting for BackupExec, they are trying to determine what their exposure is for notifying their customers of a possible data breach. As such, a couple of questions?

1) What is the data format that BE 9.0 uses to write data to DAT tape (assuming software compression)?

2) What would a thief need to do to get the data off of the tape? I am assuming they could easily import it if they had access to another BE server.

3) Is their a technical doc that describes how BE 9.0 writes data to tape?

Thanks in advance... JW

[Ken_Putnam]

Veritas uses MTF (Microsoft Tape Format) to write to tape.

If a password was not placed on the tape, any installation of BackupExec (or any other backup system that uses MTF- includeing NTBackup) would be able to read that tape, if SW compression was used NTBackup and Arcserve would not be able to read them, but any other BackupExec installation should be able to.

IF HW compression was used, any compatible drive would be able to read the tape

[Shyam_Sundar]

For more Information on the format in which the data is written on to tapes.

The catalog format which is used by Backup Exec for Windows Servers is Microsoft Tape Format (MTF). The database engine writes the MTF catalogs which are stored both on the storage media and on Backup Exec for Windows Servers.

When Software compression is used then only another Backup Exec instance can read the tapes. If it is hardware then any other device which supports H/w compression can read the tapes.

If the tape is password protected, then while trying to restore the data on the tape to another instance of Backup Exec, password is asked. So in this case if the password is not known to the person who tries to restore data from the tape, then the data in the tape is useless. The only way to make the tape reusable is to erase the tape bywhich the contents are erased.

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[Madhuri_Shenoy]

As per our previous reply, marking the case as "assumed answered" and moving it to "answered questions" pool.