A secure electronic storage system for digital information administered by a third party and accessible over a communications network. Sensitive information in digital format is stored in a secure database located at a physically remote storage facility which appears to a client computer as a single, peripheral storage device and is transparent to the user. The secure storage facility is treated as a local logical storage device accessible from a user's desktop computer thus allowing the storage, retrieval and updating of data files electronically over a communications network such as the internet. Dedicated data storage units identified by a user identification code are maintained in a secure environment and are accessed from a user's desktop computer utilizing a standard data file access method for a single peripheral storage device. Encryption and user authorization validation services are also provided.