The Importance of Data Encryption

As a critical component of your cybersecurity strategy data encryption helps protect sensitive information that is stored on your firm’s computer systems or transmitted across public networks. As cyber-attacks get more sophisticated and computer systems improve techniques for encryption of data must also change. To help ensure that your data is protected, it’s important to understand how this security method works and when it’s most appropriate.

Encryption refers to the process of making data encoded in a way that it is scrambled or inaccessible to anyone who does not have the encryption key. The encrypted text can then be stored or transmitted in https://dataroomblog.net/virtual-data-rooms-fortifying-data-security-for-your-business/ order to prevent unauthorized access.

When properly used If used properly, encryption of data makes it impossible for hackers to gain access to information even if the information is physically or digitally stolen. It’s often the core of a robust security framework and is often required by compliance standards to protect certain kinds of information, for example, healthcare data subject to HIPAA regulations, payment card data with PCI DSS regulations and personal information to ensure GDPR compliance.

With remote work and mobile devices becoming more commonplace and widespread, it is essential for businesses to implement robust data encryption strategies to ensure that their sensitive data is secure. This includes encryption at rest, which shields the data stored on hard drives, cloud storage, USB devices and smartphones from physical and malicious attacks that could occur when a device is plugged into a network that is accessible to the public. Additionally, data encryption in transit protects information that is moving from one device to another, such as instant messages, email and website browser traffic. This safeguards against malicious actions like man-in-the-middle attacks.