Data Encryption and its Importance to Data Privacy

 

What is Data Encryption?

Data Encryption is the process in which data is take and made into an indecipherable format. This data can only be read if the proper unscrambling key is used to decipher the data. It is currently one of the most popular and effective methods of maintaining data privacy used by organizations.

Encryption is done by first identifying the sensitive information that needs to be protected such as files, messages, etc. This plain text, the original readable form, then gets put into an encryption algorithm that transforms this plain text into ciphertext by scrambling the data into an unreadable sequence of characters. This data cannot be read unless the user has a decryption key. A longer key makes the encryption and decryption process even more complex because of the size.

Types of Encryption

Symmetric Encryption is the process of encrypting data with a secret symmetric key that is shared with all parties involved in the transaction.

Asymmetric Encryption is the process of encrypting data with two keys so that anyone can encrypt the data with a public key but to decrypt it you need a private key.

Symmetric encryption is considered to be the faster of the two, however it requires both the sender and recipient require the key in order to encrypt and decrypt. This means that any organization using this method has to find a secure way to send the key to the recipient. 

However, using asymmetric encryption this can be made a secure process. Many services have adapted to use an asymmetric algorithm to exchange the key after the symmetric algorithm encrypts the data.

Why is it important to encrypt data?

Encrypting data is one of the main ways organizations ensure data privacy and security. By encrypting data, any potential data breaches are prevented because the data is still confidential unless the user has a key to decrypt it. Additionally, in the modern day, the algorithms used also have drive key security initiatives including authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. 

As more organizations shift to cloud or hybrid cloud environments, data encryption is becoming even more necessary in organizations because there is not only expanding attack surfaces, but increasing data complexity and data sprawl. Data breaches have become more frequent as a result, with the 2023 global average cost to remediate data breaches reaching 4.45 million, a 15 percent increase over three years according to the Cost of a Data Breach Report from IBM. With data encryption, these data breaches are mitigated and prevented because hackers do not have access to the information without decrypting it, protecting the sensitive information an organization has for both its employees and customers.

Additional benefits of data encryption

  • Compliance Management 
  • Secure Communications
  • Protection Against Insider Threats

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