What is Encryption?
Encryption is a way of scrambling data so that only authorized parties can understand the information as it is converted into secret code that hides its true meaning. In technical terms, it is the process of converting plaintext to ciphertext – which is the formula to encode and decode messages. Only people with access to decryption key or password can read it.
Although encrypted data appears random, encryption work in a logical, predictable way, so that a party receiving the encrypted data and in possession of the key used to encrypt the data can decrypt the data, turning it back into plaintext. Truly secure encryption will be complex enough that a third party is highly unlikely to decrypt the ciphertext by brute force – in other words, by guessing.
Encryption is an effective way to secure data, but the cryptographic keys must be carefully managed to ensure data remains protected, yet accessible when needed. Access to encryption keys should be monitored and limited to those individuals who absolutely need to use them. There are many types of encryption, the 3 main ones are Symmetric, Asymmetric and End-to-end.
WHAT IS DATA ENCRYPTION?
Data encryption is what happens when you take the text or data you use and convert it to a code (also called “ciphertext”) that can’t be understood by those who do not have the correct key. For the data to be useable, it must be changed back or decrypted.
WHY IS IMPORTANT TO ENCRYPT YOUR DATA?
Encryption plays an important role in securing many different types of information technology, such as confidentiality, authentication and integrity. Therefore, the significance of encryption lays on some important factors, like the ones below:
HOW ENCRYPTION IS USED?
Encryption is commonly used to protect data in transit and data at rest. Every time someone uses an ATM or buys something online with a smartphone, encryption is used to protect the information being relayed. Businesses are increasingly relying on encryption to protect applications and sensitive information from reputational damage when there is a data breach.
The purpose of data encryption is to protect digital data confidentiality as it is stored on computer systems and transmitted using the internet or other computer networks.
Do you encrypt your data? Contact us for more information.
Sources:
https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/encryption
https://digitalguardian.com/blog/what-data-encryption