Encrypting a local Time Machine drive
For security compliance, all local Time Machine backup drives must be encrypted.
- Right click (or control click) on your Time Machine back up drive on your desktop
- Select Encrypt from the contextual menu
- When asked, create a complex password
Keep the following in mind:
- Forgetting the password will prevent access to the data on the drive
- Depending on the amount of data on the drive, encryption may take several days of computing time to complete
- During the encryption process, Time Machine may be unable to complete additional backups