Continuing our discussion on backups, this episode explores encryption, snapshots, and backup lifecycle management—three critical components of a secure, efficient, and resilient backup system. Encrypting backups is essential to protect sensitive data in the event of theft or unauthorized access to storage media, whether local or cloud-based. We explain how key management, access controls, and encryption standards like AES-256 play a role in maintaining confidentiality while keeping data recoverable. Snapshots, meanwhile, allow point-in-time captures of system states—ideal for virtual machines, databases, or containers—enabling rapid rollback without full restoration. Lifecycle management governs how long backups are kept, how they’re rotated, and when they should be destroyed to meet retention and compliance requirements. We also touch on backup integrity checks, automation tools, and the importance of isolating backup infrastructure from production environments to prevent ransomware from infecting both. Backups don’t just need to exist—they need to be secure, current, and actionable.