If you regularly make backups to those media then it shouldn't be an issue. For example, burn a new DVD once a year that way your media is never more than a year old.

This is where preparedness and organization meet. Classify and group your data.
Keep all the important documents in one place, all the identity info (ss card, birth certificate, etc), health records, etc. Those are in one place on the computer and in the important documents binder in the safe. Those are backed up across multiple systems and multiple media types (encrypted volume).
Keep all the archived stuff in one place, the tax returns, old bank statements, etc. Stuff you keep because they may be useful some day but don't need them as often and they don't change often. Re-burn that DVD at least annually even if the archived data hasn't changed. Then you can eliminate some of the older copies where the media is more likely to fail.

Speaking of which, my backup cloud storage provider decided to close up shop on me. I'll add it to the list of service providers that folded under me. Looks like I'm to storing a backup drive in a safe deposit box.

For those of you with computer expertise, is breaking a hard drive into multiple partitions, each one with a full copy of the data, more secure then a single partition? My though was if a sector became corrupted on one of the partitions, the other copies of the data would still be viable.

No. Sector corruption can happen but some filesystems can compensate for this. The problem is more commonly failure of the drive itself (and ALL partitions fail simultaneously) or power supply issues take out all hard drives on the system simultaneously and possibly multiple systems on the same power grid.

The only thing that having multiple copies on the same hard drive will save is if one deletes a file accidentally, a 2nd copy is available for backup (assuming that you having configured it to automatically mirror).

Off site and off line backup is needed for data security.

I've seen the storage provider close happen often, even seen the cloud storage provider loose data and say "oops, we don't have a backup, our TOS says we provide storage not foolproof backups".

Bank branches can close and safe deposit boxes get destroyed as well (hurricane Katrina).

You need multiple backups in multiple places. My most important data is always synced to 4 devices (phone, tablet, laptop and "server") not counting backups. So even if my home were destroyed, and backup locations destroyed my phone is still in my pocket with its copy.

And another scenario I hadn't encountered before. The dynamic dns provider I use to sync my mobile devices from outside my home network was attacked by Microsoft. http://www.noip.com/blog/2014/06/30/ips-...mpaign=takedown

So internet politics is another risk to backup strategy.

Speaking of Zombies, this one's coming back from the dead ...

A Scientific Model Of What A Zombie Apocalypse Would Look Like (And Where Not To Hide), complete with maps that change as the Zombie Apoc' spreads. So there you go, initially most areas outside major cities are good to go, then later on, not so much.

I for one greatly appreciate having a place like ETS to ask questions and seek advice, even if the replies are "it depends" or "this is what worked for me YMMV." I often struggle finding a place to start, whether it's making a pocket sized PSK or a full sized BOB. I know some folks here get a bit exasperated with the sometimes basic questions I ask as their years of experience and expertise have carried them far beyond such mundane queries but I still appreciate being able to ask them, and also appreciate the folks who take the time to reply and offer their advice.

Many thanks to everyone here at ETS.