Is this a necessary step? Maybe.

[Rod]

I didn't know this but it may be worth passing on. Generally I'm against encryption for no real reason but this is an example where there may be some advantages. I just read this in an article from iMore in relation to transferring data from an old iPhone to a New one:
Even if you don't typically use iTunes, you may want to just to set up your new iPhone faster. If you use an encrypted back up, not only is it stored securely, but many if not all of your passwords will transfer along as well, saving your having to enter them again.

Note: Make sure you're running the most recent version of iTunes before transferring your data.

Plug your old iPhone into your Mac or Windows PC.
Launch iTunes.
Click on the iPhone icon in the menu bar when it appears.
Click on Back Up Now.
Click on Encrypt Backup and add a password.
Backup Apps, if asked.

 

[pigoo3]

Hey there Rod. Nothing wrong with encryption as long as the password is not lost or forgotten. As I'm sure you've read. We get threads all the time where folks do forget their password.

And if this password is forgotten…just ask the United States FBI (Dept. of Justice vs. Apple) just how difficult it is to break into an iPhone!

- Nick

 

[Rod]

Ha,ha, yea, well I was only struck by the advantage of being able to transfer passwords across, it is a bit of a pain I realise but maybe these are the same type of people who would forget their encryption password. There is something to be said for reinforcement. I had a friend who turned off the "require password at login" and after 6 months they needed to type in the admin password to instal some software but had forgotten what it was. Sometimes things can be made too easy for our own good.

 

[Ember1205]

Encrypted backups are most notably for allowing health-related data to be backed up and restored, but there are other options like you included as well. On Mac computers, you can save the password for an encrypted backup to the keychain so that you can promptly forget it.

 

[Dysfunction]

Really, with the amount of data we keep on our digital devices that is, by it's very nature, confidential there is NO valid reason NOT to encrypt.

 

[Rod]

And I have to say if the encryption password is in Keychain doesn't that defeat the point?

 

[Ember1205]

I believe the only way you can save the password to the keychain is if your user account has a password on it. So, it becomes like a master password.

 

[Dysfunction]

And I have to say if the encryption password is in Keychain doesn't that defeat the point?

No. That's hashed.

 

[TattooedMac]

I have just started trading in Bitcoin, after doing LOTS & LOTS of research, seeing where the currency is going, and what it's going to be in 2/5/10 yrs time. I have had to get used to 2 Step Verification, been signing emails with 4096bit PGP/GPG Encyption and have gone as far as encrypting my Home Folder within a .dmg.
My 15-24 character Passwords have been also securely stored. I don't care what anyone thinks, but the days of the "unless your a super spy, there is no need to use File Vault" are gone. I used to post that exact comment in threads where people have trouble with FV (although I don't recommend the use of FV AT ALL).

There is just too much Idendity Theft going on, for me now not to take these actions. I did at one stage forget my 'Encypted Backup' password for my iPhone, but now have learnt to secure Passwords the right way, with hard copy's in a Safe, which are also password protected.

The World Is Changing People !!!!

 

[Dysfunction]

I have just started trading in Bitcoin, after doing LOTS & LOTS of research, seeing where the currency is going, and what it's going to be in 2/5/10 yrs time. I have had to get used to 2 Step Verification, been signing emails with 4096bit PGP/GPG Encyption and have gone as far as encrypting my Home Folder within a .dmg.
My 15-24 character Passwords have been also securely stored. I don't care what anyone thinks, but the days of the "unless your a super spy, there is no need to use File Vault" are gone. I used to post that exact comment in threads where people have trouble with FV (although I don't recommend the use of FV AT ALL).

There is just too much Idendity Theft going on, for me now not to take these actions. I did at one stage forget my 'Encypted Backup' password for my iPhone, but now have learnt to secure Passwords the right way, with hard copy's in a Safe, which are also password protected.

The World Is Changing People !!!!

I won't even buy a non SED drive anymore. They're the same price, and it's simply not worth the significant risks of having unencrypted data around.

 

[yogi]

Also keep in mind that if you care about privacy, you should reconsider using iCloud backup. While iCloud backup is encrypted, Apple has the decryption keys and can therefore decrypt that data.

So the encrypted iTunes backup is also a nice alternative, but obviously a bit more of a hassle.

Is it necessary? Well if you use iTunes backup at all (alongside or instead of iCloud), you should encrypt it. The backup contains all your contacts' details, your messages to loved ones, possibly photos, health-related data, location information about places you go regularly (through the iPhone's WiFi location tracking), calendar info - generally a lot of things any burglar would like to see.

We often may not think that our data is worth protecting, but we aren't as skilled at deriving correlations from that data for a malicious cause either.