If this story doesn't persuade you to back up securely, nothing will

From the Sacramento Bee: An entomologist visiting UC Davis for a five-month research trip was robbed at gunpoint last week, losing cash, a brand-new laptop and an external hard drive containing precious scientific data and lecture materials, according to Davis police and a spokesperson at the university...

...(T)he robber “stole the entomologist’s wallet containing his rent money and credit cards, his newly purchased laptop, and an external hard drive containing scientific data.” That 1-terabyte hard drive held “all his research data and lectures” ...

Full story at https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article235500012.html

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So what's the lesson. If you back up your computer on an external drive, you are protected from some kind of computer malfunction. But you are not protected from a loss of both when carried together.

Back up either to an external drive that is in a different location from your computer or back up to "the cloud." UCLA faculty, students and staff, by the way, have free access to cloud storage on "Box." Info at:

https://www.it.ucla.edu/services/email-calendaring-collaboration/box/individual-box-accounts