iCloud security

[Sirius]

How is my data stored in iCloud? Is it encrypted? I will be keeping medical records in TapForms and do not want the US government or anyone else to see it.

[Brendan]

Tap Forms encrypts the database files that it uses to sync. It does not encrypt photos, file attachments, drawings, or audio recordings.

[Pete Forster]

I installed TapForms on my MacBook and set up a key. At that point it required a password to enter the application. All (seemingly) fine and good.

I then installed on my iMac. I hit cloud sync and it opened up a database that contained some of the records from the MacBook with no password input.

As a side issue the synching works very intermittently and misses loads of records which makes it unusable. The main point is I didn’t reenter the password so it cannot be encrypted on iCloud!

Bit disappointed as I like the printed output despite the fact that the relational side of the database doesn’t work like ‘real’ databases. I know I’m complaining but I really tried to like the product.

[Sirius]

Are the database files residing on the iCloud server encrypted?

[Brendan]

Yes, the database files residing in iCloud are encrypted. If you want to verify that, open one up in a text editor and see what you can find. On Mac you can find them in

~/Library/Mobile Documents/FXLPHZS84D~com~clickspace~tapforms/SyncDocuments

They’re the .tfx files.

[Sirius]

To encrypt files residing on iCloud server, I first create an encryption key. Then must I encrypt the database on the desktop or is creating an encryption key sufficient to encrypt my file on the iCloud server?

[ArsAstronautica]

Pete,

I am a bit puzzled by your experience. I have a small DB of account passwords, both web site and computer accounts. I have specified that certain fields in the DB be encrypted. I set it up on my laptop. When I synched the DB to my iPad and iPhone, both required the password for decryption as expected.

As to iCloud synching, I’ve not really had any prroblems with it accross my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. One thing I have run into is that it tends to be a bit slow with large changes. I tap the sync button and even though it seems like TF was done synching, in fact it was not finished. This is especially true of large data set updates. Tap Forms comeds back as if it was all done when in reality it is still synching (in the background?). I do not know if this is a Tap Forms thing or an iCloud thing. All I’ve ever needed to to was wait a bit longer for all devices to catch up. I’ve never lost anything and everything has always showed up.

[Brendan]

Ya, that’s an iCloud thing, not a Tap Forms thing. All Tap Forms is doing is generating those .tfx files and storing them in the iCloud container. That’s what’s happening when Tap Forms is displaying the syncing messages at the top status bar. After I’ve finished generating the database change files, it’s up to iCloud to upload those files in the background. And it can sometimes take its time about it, but that’s out of my control. That’s why I put the upload and download progress bars on the iCloud Sync screen on the iOS version. It lets you know that iCloud is uploading and downloading the files and how much it has to go. Once a file is downloaded, then iCloud notifies Tap Forms and then it’s able to process those database change files.

[Sirius]

Is the encryption key stored in the .tfx files or some other file on the iCloud server? If some one gained access to the file would they be able to find the key in the file and then decrypt the file using the key?

[Author]

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