Help w/ offsite backups

[D.BALE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The auditors are beating their drums around here and have decided to implement
a requirement for off-site backup for our branch AS/400s.  This is coming to
me second-hand, so I don't know the specifics, except that we are now
requiring our branches to send to us (at corporate) via 2-day express mail the
backup tapes (cartidges) from the Thursday night backups.  We will have a
3-week cycle of tapes.  Week 1 arrives, we send back week 3.  Week 2 arrives,
we send back week 1.  Week 3 arrives, we send back week 2.  This is a
quick-to-implement, temporary plan to satisfy the auditors immediately; in the
near future, we will be looking at off-site storage services local to the
branch, as well as on-site safe storage, among other options.  So pleeezze, no
lectures on all the shortcomings of this plan.  We know the shortcomings -
'nuff said.

Questions:
How should we go about *safely* packaging this media?
Someone brought up the concern of stray magnetic waves that could hit the
media between point A and point B, effectively destroying the data.  Is this a
real concern?  If so, how does one effectively protect magnetic media when
shipping it?
Anybody know of import/export rules for this type of material for Mexico,
Canada, and the U.K.?
Anybody doing this recommend (or not) any particular delivery service company?

TIA.

- Dan
Dan Bale says "Ban Dale!"
IT - AS/400
Handleman Company
248-362-4400  Ext. 4952
D.Bale@Handleman.com
  Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
  (Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)
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