Are Time Machine backups secure?

Are Time Machine backups secure? I have my Time Machine backups on an external disk (WD My Passport with no hardware encryption) and I'm worried if the data stored on the disk is safe in case somebody steals it and connect it to any Mac/PC.
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 294

Total answers/comments: 2

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Guest [Entry]

"No
There is zero encryption applied by default to a Time Machine backup.
Although you may not be able to just 'load' a Time Machine backup from another computer easily, I would imagine that it would be very trivial for someone to actually view the files as no special effort is made to protect them like this.
Edit: As Arjan said, ""Loading it is as easy as holding down Option to change ""Enter Time Machine"" into ""Browse Other Time Machine Disks""."""

Guest [Entry]

"This answer is not complete.

For a home directory secured with FileVault 1

Backups of that home, performed by Time Machine, will be as secure as the original.

For a home directory secured in this way:

runs of Time Machine whilst the user is logged in will exclude the home
a run of Time Machine, for the secure home, will occur whenever the user logs out."