Whether you’re an avid travel photographer or one with a penchant for capturing moments in time casually, your camera roll has a bigger role than simply storing your photos. With our phone cameras now harbouring troves of memories, experiences, and potentially sensitive information, we cannot afford to lose these unexpectedly.
If we had the chance to ensure their complete security and stability, why wouldn’t we take it? It’s all well and good to say that we can just ensure our phones and camera rolls don’t get stolen or lost, but that can still happen. Enter encrypted photo storage.
Don’t be dissuaded by that technical wording – it’s easier to obtain and manage than you think. This article explores why professional and casual photographers – whether using a DSLR or a phone camera – should prioritise using encrypted photo storage solutions and how they reduce the risk of image loss while safeguarding your treasured memories.
Preserving the Value of Your Photos
Every photo you take has significance, whether it’s a breathtaking sunset behind the sea, a candid moment with your loved ones, or iconic historical landmarks. The value of these images is also quantified beyond their simple worth in sentimentality for you – they can, unintentionally or otherwise, contain a wealth of sensitive or identifiable information.
This includes (but is not limited to):
- Location data embedded within the image metadata
- Timestamps revealing your travel routes
- Images of accommodation or valuable possessions
- Recognisable faces of family, friends, or strangers
Should this information fall into the wrong hands, it could pose a risk to your privacy and security. Therefore, it makes sense to protect your photo collection, not just for your own peace of mind, but for the safety of those around you.
The Risks of Unsecured Photo Storage
Nowadays, data breaches and cyber attacks are increasingly common, with 50% of businesses in the UK reporting some form of cyber breach in the last 12 months, according to recent government data.
While you may think that your data offers little to no value to an opportunistic cybercriminal, that’s not to suggest that maintaining the best possible security hygiene isn’t worth it. Unsecured and accessible photo storage can leave you and your close ones susceptible to a handful of threats.
- Identity theft – photos containing personal information – such as passport numbers, flight tickets, driving licences and more – can be stolen and intercepted for identity theft. Seemingly innocuous travel photos can reveal your whereabouts and routines.
- Invasion of privacy – unsecured cloud storage or compromised phones can unlock access to your entire photo library. This intrusion can mean that private images and information can be exposed to the public, which can have harsh consequences, depending on their severity and sensitivity.
- Corporate espionage – professional photographers or those who work in the travel industry could see confidential trade, business or intellectual property information exposed if their photos are exploited. This could make them prime targets for corporate espionage.
- Robberies – geotagged photos can inadvertently broadcast your location, accommodation, and travel plans. If these photos are shared on social media this can leave you vulnerable to physical threats, or potentially make your home a target for burglary while you’re abroad.
Ultimately, it’s in your best interests to safeguard your photos, as if sensitive images are leaked or exposed, it could not only threaten your safety but also damage your reputation and career.
The Power of Encryption in Photo Storage
Encryption provides a powerful shield for your digital media, rendering your photos and files unreadable to unauthorised users. Understandably, many casual photographers or everyday smartphone users don’t fully grasp how encryption works, so it’s worth breaking the process down into simple steps.
- Data scrambling – encryption essentially converts your photo metadata into a scrambled format that can only be deciphered with the correct encryption key (almost like a password). Therefore, if a cyber attacker gains access to your photo storage, encrypting your photos means they can only get indecipherable data, as they won’t have the key.
- Protection in transit – when you upload photos to a cloud storage system or transfer them between devices, encryption ensures that the data remains secure during transmission. This is even possible when using public or free WiFi networks during your travels.
- Access control – encrypted storage providers often provide robust access control features in their software. This allows you to manage who can view, edit or share your photos, which is especially useful for professional photographers collaborating with clients or marketing teams.
- Additional protection – if your camera, phone, laptop, or storage media is lost or stolen during your travels, properly encrypted solutions keep your images inaccessible to whoever may find your devices.
Practical Tips to Keep Your Photos and Data Secure
Firstly, opting for cloud storage solutions that offer end-to-end encryption is highly recommended. This will ensure your most precious photographic memories remain safe and secure, staying encrypted before they leave your device and until you access them again.
However, consider also implementing the following practical tips to keep your data even more secure as you embark on more travels.
- Professional photographers – or those with particularly sensitive or valuable photo collections – should consider engaging in a risk assessment. These can range from isolated vulnerability assessments to large-scale penetration testing engagements from specialists, which can simulate ethical cyber attacks to identify weak spots in your security and storage setup. This will allow you to address potential weaknesses before they’re exploited by real attackers.
- Use strong, unique passwords for your photo storage accounts and any other external storage media or devices. Using a reputable password manager to generate and securely hold complex passwords for each of your accounts will also work as a valuable asset.
- Add an extra layer of security to your accounts by enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) – otherwise known as multi-factor authentication (MFA). This will require a second form of identity verification beyond your password, such as a one-time passcode, email link, text message, or biometric fingerprint. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised access.
- Regularly update your software, devices, apps, and storage solutions with the latest security patches. These updates include critical core system fixes for bugs or newly discovered vulnerabilities, which, if you don’t update regularly, could expose you and your data.
- Maintain local backups of your photo collection alongside your cloud storage solution. Consider using an encrypted external hard drive or off-site storage drive for additional security, that you exclusively have access to.
- Be cautious about using public and unsecured WiFi networks while abroad, and consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt your internet connection. Be especially mindful of the sharing settings of your software and devices when connected to these networks.
Don’t Let Your Precious Memories Be Ruined or Exploited
As keen photographers and travel enthusiasts, our images are often irreplaceable records of our experiences, creativity, and memories. It can be devastating if they were to fall into the wrong hands, or be removed from our photo collections without us ever having access to them.
Implementing robust encryption and following the above security recommendations can ensure that we capture these precious moments in time with complete confidence that they won’t be lost, stolen, or removed. We can then continue to do what we do best – experience the beautiful wider world around us and take it all in, without any worry about photo security.
