The Importance of Encryption for Data Security

Data encryption is considered one of the most effective methods used to protect information from leakage. Encrypted data does not benefit fraudsters, even if they get access to it. The encryption converts the entered characters to a cypher, which can only be decrypted by the system that produced the original encryption. Let’s explore why encrypting data is important and how it can be done. 

What Is Encryption?

This technology, which was once highly secretive and available only to public services and the military, can now be used by anyone. Even if you don’t keep state secrets and don’t work with an NDA, encryption still serves a purpose. It applies to personal photos, passport data, bank card passwords, personal addresses, and much more that you would not want to publish on the internet.

Encryption refers to the transformation of information to hide it from unauthorised individuals while providing authorised users with access to it. Usually, encryption serves to maintain the confidentiality of the transmitted information. Remember that encryption is not encoding. Encoding also transforms information, but only for the convenience of storage and transmission, so keeping it private is not the main objective.

There are many threats, and from each of them, you can come up with your own method of protection, for example, putting a PIN code on your smartphone or PC. But if you protect the data so that only its owner can read it, the result will be more reliable and comprehensive. The risk of data leakage is avoided if important information is stored in encrypted form.

Types of Encryption

Sometimes, you may not even know that your data is encrypted; for example, when you access an online banking website over an HTTPS protocol, you contact the bank via an encrypted channel. Encryption is also built into the most popular GSM cellular communication standard. Among different encryption algorithms and methods, we chose some that are used to protect data on your smartphone or PC. 

Symmetric encryption

Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. Despite its limitations and security threats, the symmetric encryption approach is still widely used in cryptography. It can be explained by the fact that it is very easy to work with. It functions as follows:

1. There is a certain mathematical encryption algorithm.
2. Plaintext and passwords are sent as its input.
3. You’ll get an encrypted text as the output.
4. If you want to get the source text, use the same password with a decryption algorithm.

When using symmetric encryption approaches, we should pay special attention to creating and maintaining password confidentiality. The key should be complex, which will exclude hacks by selecting programmatically iterated values. And it should not be transmitted to anyone in an open form either on the network or on the physical device. 

In symmetric encryption, keys are selected at random, and their length typically varies between 128 and 256 bits, depending on the required level of security. To make up combinations of increased complexity, the mechanism considers numbers, letters, and cases.

Asymmetric encryption

Asymmetric encryption uses two different keys – one for encryption, which is also called public, and the other for decryption, which is called private. The first one is sent to everyone who needs it; the second one remains secret. This encryption type is somewhat similar to your bank account: the public key refers to your account number, which you can easily share, and the private key is similar to a PIN code or CVV number, which you must not share. 

1. There still is a certain mathematical algorithm for encryption.
2. A plaintext is sent as its input; you need a public key to encrypt.
3. You’ll get a ciphertext as the output.
4. If you want to get the source text, you’ll use a private secret key and a decryption algorithm.

As a rule, asymmetric encryption is used to identify users, for example, when logging into a website or forming encrypted digital signatures. Asymmetric encryption allows you to establish a secure connection with no effort on the user’s part. With symmetric encryption, the user needs to know the password to decrypt data.

Another functional difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption is related to the length of the keys, which are directly related to the security level of each algorithm. In asymmetric encryption, there must be a mathematical relationship between the public and private keys; that is, they are connected by a certain mathematical formula. Since they are not random, their length should be higher than that of symmetrical encryption keys. 

Hashing

A cryptographic hash function, more often called a hash, is a mathematical algorithm that converts an arbitrary array of data into a fixed-length string consisting of letters and numbers. The hash cannot be reversed to obtain the source data. The most common use case for hashing is password storage, protection of media files, and detection of malicious programs with security software.

A hash function is strong only if the main requirements are met: 

• resistance to the recovery of hashed data
• resistance to collisions – the formation of two identical hash values from two different data arrays.

Hashing can also be used to protect against falsified transmitted information. You can make sure that the file hasn’t undergone any changes by comparing the hashes taken before sending and after receiving.

Encryption Use Cases 

Cryptographic data protection (like encryption) is used in many cases, likely more than you’d expect. Primarily, it is a way to turn data from a plaintext or an unencrypted version into cyphertext text or an encrypted version. Let’s see where it can be applied. 

Protection from hackers

Modern information security systems can withstand classic hacker attacks. Think about how much important information is stored in files, folders and on your private devices or even your company’s computers. Encryption makes sensitive data unreadable for hackers, even if they somehow gain access to it.

Compliance with regulations

Encryption is an official requirement for compliance with regulations in industries like healthcare and finance. 

Protection from internal threats

Information may require additional protection, not only from scammers hacking servers but also to restrict access within an organisation. Internal threats mostly arise with employees or contractors within a company. Encryption ensures that even employees with access to confidential data won’t be able to read it without authorisation. This helps prevent data leakage caused by employees abusing their access rights.

Stay Secured: Encryption Is Not the Only Solution

Encryption can help prevent data leakage and ensure that sensitive information remains confidential. However, using encryption alone isn’t enough to protect data, so organisations implement other security measures, for example, firewalls, antivirus software, and access controls. The company should make regular data backups, train employees on cybersecurity, and have a strong password policy.

Also read the article ‘Weaknesses in Payments Security: How to Stay Protected’.

Enhance Financial Security with Payrow Payment Services

Many businesses integrate payment systems to improve the user experience and enable access to additional services, including making purchases or transferring money. Often, they collaborate with banks and PSPs that guarantee the safety of customers from their side. Enterprises may also need apps for tracking income and expenses, reporting, and accounting. To prevent unauthorised access to the data in such apps, you may set your own strong passwords, aside from a built-in security protocol. 

We also offer additional authentication options, including security tokens and biometric data, to protect against hacker attacks. Make your payments secure with Payrow!

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