Seeing the number of data breaches happening every year, cybersecurity is on peak and businesses have made data encryption their top priority. In fact, data encryption has proven itself to be an effective method for protecting an organization’s information.
However, there are a handful of data encryption methods available in the market. So, how do you choose one that complements your needs? Let’s find out.
In a world where cybercrime is on the rise, it is comforting to see methods that can be used against them. However, the real challenge is deciding on one particular method.
Businesses that are looking to move to new office spaces are at greater risk of cybersecurity problems. This is why most experts recommend that when it comes to IT asset relocation, you need to employ professional services and companies that are adept at carrying this out.
In this article, we will take you through the following:
- What Is Data Encryption?
- How Does Data Encryption Work?
- Types Of Data Encryption.
What Is Data Encryption?
Encryption in cybersecurity is the conversion of readable data to an encoded format. When the encoded data is shared within the others, it must be decrypted before it is readable.
Today, encryption has become the basic building block of data security. It is the simplest and easiest way to ensure that your data is safe and secure from unauthorized access.
With the right data encryption, you can ensure that all your computer system’s data can’t be stolen and read by someone who wants to use the data for malicious purposes.
How Does Data Encryption Work?
When information is shared over the internet, it goes through a series of networks. As the data travels through the public network, there is always a possibility that the data can be compromised. To ensure that this never happened, users install several software and tools to encrypt their data. This process of encrypting is known as data encryption in network security.
Data encryption works on the concept of changing the form of how we perceive data. Usually, data is in simple plain text, which is comprehensible by anyone. However, when the data is encrypted, the data are converted into special characters or into something that becomes incomprehensible.
Data encryption involves a cryptographic key and mathematical values that both sender and receiver agree on. The more complex the cryptographic key is, the more secure the encryption.
Types Of Data Encryption
When you are looking for a data encryption method, there are several approaches you can choose from. However, most internet security professionals break down these encryption methods based on these three security pillars.
- Symmetric.
- Asymmetric.
- Hashing.
1. Symmetric Encryption Method
The symmetric encryption method is also known as private key Cryptography. It is a secret key algorithm that requires the sender and receiver to access the same key. That means the receiver would need to have the keys before receiving the data.
Furthermore, if you choose Symmetric encryption over Asymmetric encryption, you will find that Symmetric encryption is much faster.
2. Asymmetric Encryption Method
Asymmetric is public-key encryption. This method uses two keys for the encryption process, a public key and a private key. These two are mathematically linked. The sender uses one key for encryption, and the receiver uses another key for decryption.
The name itself shows that the public key is available to anyone, while the private key is exclusively reserved for private use. Find out more about asymmetric encryption in this guide.
3. Hashing
Hashing operates differently compared to asymmetric and symmetric encryption. It uses a unique signature of fixed length for data. Each message is assigned with a unique hash. Hence, making any changes in the messages can easily be trackable.
Many security experts do not count hashing as a security option. However, the line of distinction is quite blurry, so we thought of adding this to the list.
Learn More About Data Security
If you are ready with the first step towards data encryption, you will find that there is more to learn about data security and encryption. We have already talked about what data encryption is and how it works. However, if you want to know more about data security and what modern trends are changing the cyber security industry, reach out to us. We will be happy to offer you relevant information.
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