Time Machine Backups contain a working image of your computer at the time the backup was taken. For this reason, encrypting these backups is important.
System backups are not required, but are encouraged for the purpose of business continuity. If you choose not to maintain regular system backups, it is highly encouraged that you be able to bring your machine to a workable state quickly. For developers, managing your dotfiles is encouraged. Setup automation is also helpful. Here are a few examples:
If you are not currently backing up to Time Machine and would like to, follow the Apple provided instructions for setting up encrypted Time Machine backups to an external disk.
We encourage you to use the status check automation script to capture the status of all Mac policies.
If you previously set up Time Machine, but the steps for Capturing Status show that disk is not encrypted, follow these Apple provided instructions for changing from unencrypted to encrypted