Patent ID: 7916487

Claim:
An apparatus for protecting a digital electronic data processor or stored data from environmental damage, said apparatus comprising, a digital data unit including a network server and a data storage medium, a protective housing as an enclosure having strong side, top, and bottom walls resistant to both impact and crushing forces defining a closed compartment which contains the digital data unit for shielding the digital data therein from environmental contaminants including gas or dust that would otherwise cause environmental damage, and said housing including at least one access port for supplying electrical power or for information transfer to or from the data unit therein, a water-resistant or waterproof seal in said port to prevent the introduction of liquid environmental substances into the housing in the event of a potentially damaging external agency from an environmental disaster or other cause, an encryption assembly located inside the protective enclosure that comprises a data encryption module that encrypts data to be stored within and decrypts data retrieved from said data storage medium, the encryption module located within the protective enclosure is conductively connected through the waterproof or water-resistant seal, an internal environmental control assembly therein that is connected to the apparatus including a heat sensor contained within the protective housing and connected to the digital data unit and a power control for reducing or cutting off power to the digital data unit to provide controlled reduction of heat produced within a protected environment in the enclosure for maintaining the environment inside the housing within a selected temperature range such that said apparatus provides heat protection that includes a combination of a) active heat reduction provided by means of the power control and b) passive heat reduction by conductive heat transfer from the interior of the enclosure through a wall of the enclosure to the surrounding environment.