Emergency Mobile Data Backup

Inspiration

We felt as a team that people go to great lengths to protect their computers and their data. But sometimes that is not enough. So for those people who need an extra level of safety for critical files or someone who has had their computer either hacked or stolen to protect the most important data they have.

What it does

This program functions by utilizing a listener script coded in python that is directly connected to the Skype messenger service. This listener script waits until it receives a specific "phrase" or code that then activates the batch file script. This script encrypts the files with AES-256 encryption and sends the files to a cloud hosted by Amazon web services. Once in the cloud the files remain encrypted and all traces of the files are wiped from the hard drive of the target device.

How we built it

We started by creating the batch script. Once we realized that we could effectively encrypt, move, and then delete the files we decided that the AWS cloud was the perfect place to store the files after encrypting them, as the hosting service had no conflicts with automatically accepting the files once paired with a dedicated domain name. To complete the program we realized that an emergency file transfer program that could only be activated locally was pointless and incomplete. So we tinkered with several different efforts to make the script activation both wireless and mobile until we found that Python had a Skype API that worked perfectly.

Challenges we ran into

Pairing the initial batch script with the cloud proved to create some minor difficulties. Though they were eventually worked through. The biggest issue during the entire development process was the act of attempting to make the batch file run without a dedicated connection to the targeted device. After trying about 3-4 different methods of making the activation mobile we finally found our fit in the python listener.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We as a team felt that we should be proud of creating a practical program that could be utilized in a real life scenario.

What we learned

Dedicated domain web hosting, scripting in python and batch files, use of the Amazon Web Service, and basic file encryption.

What's next for Emergency Mobile Data Backup

Ideally the next big step for a program like this would be to expand the process to the entire contents of a computer's memory if necessary. Implement different interfaces including but not limited to SMS, twitter, whatsapp, etc. to act as a listener.