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As data travels across networks, it becomes vulnerable to interception. To safeguard
Do you know that the average cost of a mega data breach in 2024, taking up 50-60 million records, has risen to $332 million? Cyberattacks now become more sophisticated and more rampant. Businesses can no longer disregard encryption as an important key to protecting sensitive information because it is no longer about precaution but necessity in the increasingly high-stakes digital scene.
So, what does encryption really do? It scrambles information into a code unreadable without the right decryption key. This therefore means, even if the data is intercepted in the process of transmission, it makes little or no sense.
In this era of cyber threats, security of the information being transferred or stored cannot be compromised. Encryption ensures that data remains private and secure during its movement within the internet or storage in the cloud.
Here’s why data security encryption matters:
Let’s break down the different forms of data encryption and how they function:
Symmetric encryption uses a single cryptographic key for both encrypting and decrypting data, making it efficient for large datasets. Its speed and simplicity make it ideal for securing data at rest and in transit.
Asymmetric encryption is used in cloud storage systems, database encryption, and high-speed network communications.
Also known as public key cryptography, asymmetric encryption ensures data is encrypted with a public key and decrypted with a private key. In this scenario, even if the public key is compromised, it will keep the data safe.
The underlying protocol makes use of asymmetric encryption in Transport Layer Security (TLS), thus ensuring internet communication is secure and encrypted.
Hashing is different from encryption because it is one-way. It transforms data into a fixed-length hash, ensuring that data integrity is maintained but not decryption. Hashing is mostly used in password protection and file integrity verification.
While hashing doesn’t encrypt data for confidentiality, it is vital to ensure data authenticity and consistency.
These are the major application areas where DLP meets IT infrastructure:
For example, organizations encrypt customer payment details with AES, ensuring the data remains useless to unauthorized users even if accessed. Similarly, asymmetric encryption secures remote employee communications, maintaining confidentiality across distributed teams.
Here’s how it really helps enhance your data protection efforts:
This essentially makes millions of possible decryption keys hit one by one through the process of brute force, as when an attacker attempts to break through and get your data, your encryption keys can ensure it to be read or made intelligible only through a decryption key. Hence, your information would not even matter or give value to them.
Consider every email and file transfer, in addition to online communication, as all these are susceptible to being intercepted during their travel across the internet. Encryption protocols such as SSL and TLS ensure that this data will not be readable if some bad guy intercepts it. This is particularly important for securing customer communications or sensitive business information over email or online chat.
When data is sitting on a computer or server, it becomes vulnerable to someone with unauthorized access to the system. Here’s where DLP encryption comes into its own. With encryption for data at rest-meaning data that’s not currently being used, but is sitting, waiting-the lock can be applied, and it means that if a hacker were able to penetrate other security layers, all they’d find is data they cannot read. For instance, if a company encrypts the details of customer payments, hackers will not be able to decipher anything even if they break into their server.
Here is a quick glance on encryption becoming an indispensable tool within data loss prevention systems, ensuring data remains protected even if stolen.
Whether sending e-mails, sharing files or even chat, encryption makes sure all communications are done in an encrypted manner. This way, even when the messages or files of yours have been intercepted by a party unauthorized to do so, they won't be able to decipher them. This feature is crucial to protect sensitive business discussions, client information, or personal communications.
Encryption is very important to help meet regulatory requirements. Many standards, including NIST, base their data security and privacy on encryption protocols. Selecting encryption will help your organization comply with industry regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS, concerning strong data protection.
Encryption ensures that in case of a breach or interception without authorization, the information remains unreadable. In case an unauthorized access gains access to the encrypted data, it cannot utilize or misuse it without the decryption key. Therefore, additional defense is ensured in not having unauthorized access resulting in data loss or exploitation.
Encrypted information will make access to sensitive information difficult for intruders. They cannot carry out decryption since decrypting depends on the appropriate cryptographic key. Advanced algorithms that go into its encryption mean if any hacker succeeded in breaking through, this would be at the least rate of zero per cent to decrypt the data. Proper key management makes only authorized users get access for decryption.
Deploying encryption as a part of your DLP can help you secure your organization’s sensitive information, comply with regulatory standards, and minimize data breach risk significantly.
Encryption is the backbone of strong data loss prevention strategies. It helps protect sensitive data from the most advanced threats. It secures communication and data at rest, thus enabling organizations to maintain confidentiality and compliance.
With robust Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools like Fidelis Network® DLP, your organization stays secure, compliant, and resilient against evolving threats.
Find out how Fidelis Security protects your most sensitive data through advanced encryption and innovative DLP solutions. Learn more.
Encryption serves primarily to keep secret and confidential information in unreadable format. Thus, a third party is prevented from accessing the information when no decryption key exists. This makes encryption crucial as an aspect of safety in terms of data breach protection, protection of personal information, and confidentiality in communications. Moreover, the act ensures that the organization will follow the required regulations; thus, encryption has been crucial in a firm’s toolbox.
Encryption algorithms differ depending on the type of encryption used:
Symmetric Algorithms:
These encryption algorithms use cryptographic keys that would change data, hence their proper use in various applications.
Data Loss Prevention tools embrace encryption to protect such sensitive data against unauthorized access. Even if data is intercepted or stolen, it will be encrypted and cannot be read without the correct decryption key.
DLP tools may:
With DLP, a holistic security strategy that brings together encryption, and others, it keeps your key information secure.
See Fidelis in action. Learn how our fast and scalable platforms provide full visibility, deep insights, and rapid response to help security teams across the World protect, detect, respond, and neutralize advanced cyber adversaries.