Encryption is one of the most essential parts of any security strategy. Data that's stored in readable 'plaintext' format is a tempting target for hackers, whether it’s at rest in a business' data center, or in motion when it’s being transferred from one user or system to another.
Encrypting this data to make it unreadable helps protect companies so that, even if they do fall victim to a breach, their most precious data is not compromised. But there are a large number of standards and technologies used for encryption, and some are more secure than others. So how do firms ensure their information is protected, while at the same time allowing people who do have authorization to read it easily?
When sending data securely - whether this is via email, file transfer or a cloud sharing service - there are three key types of encryption that you need to be aware of:
The symmetric encryption method uses a single key both to encrypt and decrypt the data. This makes the operation simpler and allows data to be encrypted and decrypted very quickly. However, if this type of encryption is deployed, it’s imperative that the key itself is kept secure; if it is compromised, it’s easy for a hacker to read the data.
Therefore, symmetric encryption is more useful in narrow circumstances where the sender and the recipient of data can share the key without risk of interception, such as meeting face-to-face. Ensuring keys are changed frequently is also important.