Data encryption is one of the strong security methods to encode information that can only be decrypted or accessed with the right encryption key. Encrypted data or ciphertext appears unreadable to all unauthorized users. Data encryption is very useful in any kind of computer system, but especially when mobile phones are used. This is because they carry confidential data in them. These mobile phones, when stolen, often end up in the hands of criminals who use this data for illegitimate purposes. Data encryption helps secure sensitive data, private information and can significantly enhance the communication security between servers and client apps.

Techniques Of Data Encryption

There are two common methods of data encryption: symmetric and asymmetric. They differ in how they use their key, who owns the key, and how the key is used to encrypt the data. For business applications, the asymmetric method is most often used.

– Symmetric Data Encryption

Symmetric data encryption uses a single secret key to encrypt and decrypt the information. The key can either be a word, a number, or some random letters string. Symmetric encryption is used for bulk data as it is fast and can be easily applied. Its only downside is that if someone finds out the secret key, they can easily decrypt the entire data whether or not they are authorized users.

– Asymmetric Data Encryption

Asymmetric data encryption or public-key cryptography is a modern technique that uses two separate keys that are mathematically linked to encrypt the information. A public key can be distributed to anyone who wants to send the encrypted data. However, only the private key can decrypt that information and is kept private. Asymmetric encryption provides better information security during data transmission. Its prime disadvantage is that it’s slower and requires greater computation power.

How Does Data Encryption Works

When information is shared on the internet, it undergoes a network of devices worldwide. As a result, it increases the chances of data being stolen or compromised by cybercriminals. To prevent this, organizations use data encryption methods.

Data encryption converts human-readable text into incomprehensible data. If the strong key is being used, then you don’t have to worry as if hackers gain access to the data, they will not be able to understand that. Only the recipient will have the key to decrypt the information.

Why Data Encryption Should Be Implemented To Secure Digital Ecosystems

Data breaches have become a major problem for all business owners. To avoid being the next big headline in the news, take the time to address these issues now. Don’t forget to have a regular assessment of your IT infrastructure, to ensure that it will be ready to withstand anything that comes its way. Having security measures in place can allow you to be proactive in addressing threats before they become a problem. Not sure where to start? Some services offer remote managed services and support, which can help you stay ahead of any problems.

There are numerous benefits that data encryption can bring to your business, but take these top reasons into account if you’re still avoiding implementing data encryption.

A. Strong Data Protection

Data encryption solutions provide business owners the greatest peace of mind since it always protects the information — in transit and at rest! For example, suppose your network is breached; the only thing which can secure your data is data encryption. With the strong encryption solution, you can ensure that your information is protected and cybercriminals cannot get their hands on your company’s data. Even if they have, it will take them a lifetime to successfully decrypt all the information.

B. Maintained Integrity

Many business owners worry about whether or not their data encryption methods will affect the integrity of data. Although data theft is a significant problem, another way for cyber-attackers to commit data fraud is to alter the existing data. Therefore, data encryption will keep the information secure from being altered, and the recipients will be able to determine if the data has been tampered with.

C. Secure Data Transmission

Data become most vulnerable during the transmission process. While TLS/SSL are industry standards to make the data transmission process secure but it’s not sufficient to defend against strong and advanced cyber-attacks. Effective data encryption ensures that data is highly secure throughout the transmission process.

D. Helps To Gain Customer Trust

For numerous organizations, data encryption is not a mandatory requirement. However, people are now concerned about their online privacy more than ever before. Therefore, implementing data encryption and advertising that your organization has applied certain data encryption standards to protect the consumer’s information will give you a competitive edge.

E. Protects The Data Of Lost/Stolen Devices

Many businesses are providing smartphones, tablets, and laptops to employees for work. This trend is emerging significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where people are encouraged to work remotely. Unfortunately, these devices are now at greater cybersecurity risk since they are relatively easy to have stolen or lost in a public place. A hacker can access the company’s sensitive data by simply scanning the hard drive if this happens.

Data encryption will protect against such threats as each file on the device will be encrypted, and the keys will be protected by the password. If the hacker doesn’t have that password, they can access it but can’t read the information stored in the device.

Future Of Encryption

Data encryption is immensely growing to help business owners successfully counter emerging security threats. Organizations need to leverage the benefits of encryption technologies while reducing operational and complexity risks. Organizations typically overlook the basics, such as how to integrate encryption into their business processes, what cryptography to use and where to get it.

Though all cybercriminals are not able to execute brute-force attacks, however, they are successfully stealing data through advanced techniques. The future of data encryption is quantum-safe cryptography, confidential computing, and homomorphic encryption. Moreover, encryption solutions are expected to utilize voice recognition and biometric authentication.

When hackers attempt to breach network security, they can determine whether their attack is successful or not. To prevent this, honey encryption will be implemented in the future, which tricks the attackers into believing that their attack is successful by generating fake results that seem to be genuine.

Furthermore, blockchain is gaining immense popularity to be an effective platform for decentralized and secure information exchange. Hospital systems, banks, government organizations tasked with managing large volumes of sensitive information are all experimenting with blockchain for cybersecurity purposes. Since blockchain encrypts and cross-checks the data at multiple nodes, blockchain networks are almost impossible to hack.

What Now?

If you have an online business and an app that requires private information of customers, including banking details, email addresses, etc., are you sure that the data will remain secure? Your clients are expecting that you will secure their credentials from hacking attacks. It would be a breaking point for your business if any client reported that their data had been stolen only because your business lacked data encryption. This could cripple your years of reputation and lose your potential clients.

Therefore, besides significant advantages of enhanced privacy security, data encryption helps protect the information from undocumented modifications and data integrity and minimizes the risk of data breaches from untrustworthy sources.

This article was first published on MEDIUM on 28th October 2021.