Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for wireless data protection utilizing cryptographic key management on a primary device and a backup device. A system encrypts a file with a file key and encrypts the file key twice, resulting in two encrypted file keys. The system encrypts each file key differently and stores a first file key on the primary device and transmits one of the encrypted file keys in addition to the encrypted file to a backup device for storage. On the backup device, the system associates the encrypted tile key with a set of backup keys protected by a user password. In one embodiment, the system generates an initialization vector for use in cryptographic operations based on a file key. In another embodiment, the system manages cryptographic keys on a backup device during a user password change.