“The Race of Technology is a War Between Ethical and Unethical Practices”
Technology is transforming pretty rapidly. The use of the Internet and software to manage organizational information has come up as a better practice that saves a lot of effort for organizations. However, at the same time, malpractitioners have also scaled up their efforts. They have started targeting organizational structures by hacking the encrypted cloud storage used by organizations to store their data.
The only way to keep your information safe is by using the latest security measures. Data Encryption is one solution that has turned out to be effective in the safekeeping of information. It is rising as a prominent choice for organizations that manage sensitive data.
However, there are only a handful of methods available for data encryption, but they are getting more and more efficient with time. In the digital world when cyber-crimes are crossing the boundaries, it is very comforting to know that there are various methods available to protect an organization’s network security.
Data encryption is a method of protecting any data by encoding it in such a way that it can only be decrypted and accessed by the individual holding a decryption key. If the data gets into the hands of unauthorized users and they try to decrypt it, the data will get all scrambled up and unreadable.
Though it can be done to all types of files, messages, and documents, encryption is done mainly to prevent intruders from gaining access to sensitive information. Hackers will not be able to gain access to any information sent over a network.
To preserve the integrity of data, encryption is a very vital tool that cannot be overlooked. Everything you see on the internet has passed through some sort of encryption before being visible. Encryption can be considered as the basic building block of cybersecurity.
File encryption software is emerging as a very helpful tool for large organizations, small businesses, and individual users. It makes encryption a lot easier and has given the power of encryption in the hands of common man.
Data Encryption is the most straightforward means of protecting information that passes from end points to the servers.
The elevated risk of cybercrime has increased the need for everyone to be familiar with basic data encryption techniques.
The main objective of data encryption is to protect sensitive and personal information from being seen by any unauthorized person. Encryption is a way to cover information and make it appear as any random data. A data encryption software can be used to keep information safe from unauthorized access.
Encryption can be applied in three primary ways.
Plain data that has no encryption to it is called plain text or clear text. The clear text needs to be passed via some sort of encryption algorithm, which is basically a mathematical calculation. There are various types of algorithms that differ by their application and security index.
Other than the algorithm an encryption key is also required to convert the plaintext into an encrypted piece of data. This encrypted form of data is called ciphertext. The cipher text is then sent from the sender's device.
Once the ciphertext reaches the receiver, he/she can use a decryption key that is already provided to them by the sender and decrypt the ciphertext. The ciphertext is then converted back into plaintext. Throughout the process, decryption key must be kept secret, and it should not be similar to the encryption key.
There are various types of data and various security use cases. This has created the need for multiple types of encryptions. All the encryption types can be broadly categorized into two categories.
In the symmetrical encryption method, a single key is used to encrypt plain text and decrypt the ciphertext. The sender and the receiver have private access keys that can only be used by authorized persons.
Symmetric Encryption is also known as Private Key Cryptography. Some common symmetric encryption algorithms include
In the asymmetrical encryption technique, two separate keys are used: a public key and a private key. Separate keys are used for encryption and decryption.
The public key is either publicly available or shared with authorized recipients. The corresponding private key is necessary for gaining access to data encrypted by the public key. The same public key cannot be used to decrypt data in this technique.
Asymmetric encryption offers a new level of security to data which has made online transfers safer. Common asymmetric methods include Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
Hashing plays a very important role in encryption. It generates a unique signature having a fixed length for a data set that might contain a message. Each specific message has its unique hash making minor changes to the information easily trackable.
Data encrypted with hashing cannot be decrypted to its original form. That is why hashing is used only as a method of verifying data. A lot of security experts do not consider hashing as an actual encryption method. But it is an effective way to represent that no one has tampered with the information.
Now that we have learned so much about data encryption techniques, let’s understand what an encryption algorithm is.
An Encryption Algorithm is a piece of code that is used to convert plain text into ciphertext. With help of an encryption key, the algorithm can alter data in a predictable manner. The encrypted data will look like a random message but once the decryption key is used, it is converted into the original message.
Let's take a look at some of the most common encryption algorithms
Because of so many security threats, the security industry is pushing its limit to keep cyber space safe.
It is often advised that one should partner with a cyber security company to manage their safety. Cyber Cops is one such organization that is on the pinnacle of cyber security. We have continuously updated ourselves with the latest technologies and knowledge so that our client’s information can be safe.
We have a team of experts who work hard to keep up with the latest practices done by hackers to gain unauthorized access. We know these malpractitioners are putting a lot of effort into getting your information, but we make sure all their efforts go in vain.
We hope you were able to get a better understanding of security data encryption techniques. If so, share the knowledge with others.