Is it possible to configure Time Machine to encrypt network backups?

Question

Since NASes as usually 24/7 online, there is a certain risk of being hacked/compromised and it's not wise to rely solely on the drive's encryption inside of the NAS.

Is it possible to set up Time Machine to encrypt a backup on the MacBook and send encrypted data over to the NAS so that only by entering the passphrase on the MacBook can the backup be decrypted?

(I know this topic had been debated in the past but all threads are 5+ years old that's why I think it's worth reconsidering)

Answer 1

If you select Encrypt backups when setting up Time Machine, the backup data will be encrypted using the encryption password you enter. The password is stored in your keychain to allow its use by Time Machine.

The backup data cannot be decrypted by anyone else unless they have the password.

To further increase safety, you may want to consider setting up different users on the network drive and let each user use their own storage for their backup data.