Any business that produces, collects, or consumes data, has the responsibility of protecting the data against unauthorized access. Whether it is for data privacy and security, business sustainability, or meeting regulatory compliance, data security has become one of the leading business requirements.

Encryption is the most important tool for data privacy and security. In the most basic form. encryption conceals information by altering it so that it is unreadable to unauthorized users. However, it plays a much larger role in security as it is a fundamental part of a wide range of technologies such as web security, secure communications, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

This blog post is a quick, beginner’s guide to encryption, how it works, its types, methods, and its applications in a business environment.

Encryption is a method of protecting data by scrambling it so that only authorized parties can understand the data. In computing, the unencrypted data is called plaintext while the encrypted data is called ciphertext and the formula used for encryption is known as an encryption algorithm or cipher.

In simple terms, encryption alters readable data and makes it appear random so that even if an unauthorized party gains access to the data, they will not be able to understand it. Historically, encryption was used by militaries to securely transmit messages. Today, encryption is used to protect data stored in devices such as computers, smartphones, and storage devices. Encryption, while data is stored, is called “encryption at rest” and while it is being transmitted, is called “encryption in transit”.

To the naked eye, encrypted data appears random but encryption follows a logical and structured process so that the party that receives the encrypted data is able to decrypt it and convert it back into plaintext. As we mentioned earlier, encryption uses an algorithm or cipher to encrypt data. A cipher includes a variable, also called a key, as part of the algorithm.

Once the encrypted data or ciphertext is transmitted, the receiving party will need the same key or a related value to decrypt the data back into plaintext. The encryption keys can be understood as something similar to physical keys. The encrypted data can be unlocked or decrypted only with the right key.

The encryption key makes a cipher's output unique. Even if the encrypted data is intercepted by an unauthorized party, without knowing the exact cipher and encryption key, the only way of decrypting the data is using guesswork. The amount of time and computing resources necessary for guessing cipher and encryption keys are massive and this makes encryption such a valuable security tool.

Encryption plays a critical role in protecting sensitive data that is stored on devices or transmitted over the internet. It not only keeps the data confidential but can also help authenticate its origin. Encryption is also used to ensure that the data has not been altered in transit. Another interesting application of encryption is in nonrepudiation, i.e., preventing senders from denying they sent an encrypted message.

In addition to ensuring data security and confidentiality, encryption is also necessary for regulatory compliance established by multiple organizations or standards such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Encryption is of two main types- symmetric and asymmetric.

Symmetric Encryption

Encryption algorithms that use the same key for both encryption and decryption are called Symmetric encryption. So, the sender that encrypts the data shares the secret key with recipients so that they can decrypt the data. Symmetric encryption is generally faster and relatively easier to implement, so it is commonly used for encrypting data in bulk.

Asymmetric Encryption

Asymmetric encryption is one that uses two distinct keys - a public key and a private key that are logically linked. Usually, the public key, which is used for encryption, is available publicly, while the private key, which is used for decryption, is kept secure and available only to the key owner. Asymmetric encryption offers a fair degree of flexibility as the public key can be easily shared but it requires more computing resources compared to symmetric encryption.

AES

One of the most widely used encryption methods is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). It was defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001 for the U.S. government that used it to encrypt classified documents. AES is a symmetric encryption cipher and supports three different key lengths 128, 192, or 256 bits. The key lengths determine the number of possible keys, so a higher key length makes the encryption more secure. In any case, the computational power required to crack AES encryption even the shortest key length is currently unrealistic.

RSA

Another popular encryption method is RSA, named after its inventors Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman. RSA is the most widely used asymmetric encryption cipher. It uses prime factorization, a method involving the multiplication of two large prime numbers to create an even larger semiprime. The product of the prime numbers is used as the public key while the prime numbers are kept secret. So the data encrypted via the public key can be decrypted only by someone who knows the two prime numbers. RSA encryption is extremely difficult because when the right key length is used, determining the two prime numbers from the product is tremendously difficult.

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system of communication encryption that prevents messages or data from being read or modified by anyone other than the true sender and recipient. In E2EE encryption occurs at the device level, which means that messages and data are encrypted before leaving the phone or computer and are decrypted only upon reaching the intended destination. Consequently, third parties including telecom companies, internet service providers, and even the communications service provider cannot decrypt the messages and data transmitted.

End-to-end encryption uses asymmetric encryption and creates a public-private key pair. The public keys used to encrypt the messages are widely published while the private keys used to decrypt the message are only known to the owner and are used to unlock or decrypt the message. E2EE is the gold standard of security for messaging systems, including email, instant messaging, and chat networks. It not only ensures that the communication stays encrypted during transport but also that the service provider is not able to decrypt the communications.

From a business perspective, encryption is necessary because of the following reasons:

• Security

Cybercriminals usually go after the low-hanging fruit, i.e. where the data is stored. If the data stored on your servers or other storage devices are not encrypted, your business will be extremely vulnerable to data loss. However, if the data is encrypted, even if hackers gain access to the data, they will not be able to understand it.

• Privacy

End-to-end encryption ensures that no one can read or alter communications in transit. This prevents attackers from malicious entities from intercepting communications for corporate espionage and social engineering.

• Data Integrity

Encryption also ensures that what the recipient receives has not been tampered with on the way. So they can be confident about the authenticity of the data received.

• Compliance

Many industry standards and government regulations require businesses to encrypt their customer data. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), PCI-DSS, and the GDPR are a few examples of such regulatory compliances that mandate encryption.

• Website Security

Encryption is fundamental for many technologies. It plays a key role in website security. The HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) that is used for keeping (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) HTTP requests and responses secure uses an encryption protocol called Transport Layer Security (TLS).

The URL of a website served over the secure HTTPS protocol begins with https:// and is represented by a secured lock in the address bar. This protocol is especially important when transmitting sensitive data, such as banking information, login credentials, or other sensitive data such as health insurance and medical information.

HTTPS is used not just for securely sending data between a web browser and a website but also for authenticating website origin servers. Therefore, it is very important to serve your website over HTTPS instead of unsecured HTTP.

• Email Encryption

Email continues to play a major role in business communication. Services like Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft do not provide truly end-to-end encryption since they hold copies of the decryption keys in their servers. So if the servers of the service provider are compromised, your sensitive data may be exposed. Email encryption also serves the purpose of source authentication, so security instances such as phishing and business email compromise (BEC) can be mitigated to a large extent.

• Device Encryption

Devices encryption mitigates the data security risks posed by lost or stolen devices. It ensures that even if a criminal gains physical access to the device, they won’t be able to access any of the sensitive information on it.

• Data Encryption

If the data stored on your servers are encrypted, even if there is a security breach, hackers will be unable to read the data because they would not have the encryption key. Data encryption also alleviates the risks posed by malicious insiders.

Conclusion

Modern encryptions are incredibly strong and effective in protecting sensitive information. These encryptions use long enough keys that make brute-force attacks impractical. Successful cyberattacks and data breaches center on unauthorized access to keys gained via phishing, malware infection, and vulnerability exploits rather than brute force attacks.

Therefore, while encryption provides strong data protection, it is not a silver-bullet solution for complete data security but only one among many security layers. For robust data protection, you should use encryption in conjunction with other security measures such as Access Control List (ACL), Identity And Access Management (IAM) systems, strong endpoint security, etc.

Does your organization have a robust data security system in place? Are you using encryption and other security systems effectively to protect your data? Click the button below to reach out to us and learn how we can help you with your data security needs.

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