Data encryption is the process of masking data so that only the owner can read it. The encryption software will apply specific mathematical algorithms to all data to not be deciphered by scanners or hackers. It’s considered a very secure way of protecting your data from being seen or accessed, even if an outside party has access to your hard drive. However, a lot of people forget that encryption is more than just encrypting the actual data. The entire hard drive must be encrypted as well.

Data encryption strategies are key for businesses and individuals who want their personal information locked up tight. For example, some people want to have their credit, debit, social security and other financial data stored in a password-protected format. In case of a breach, they don’t want their personal information to be exploited by hackers or identity thieves.

Common types of encryption available and how they are used.

Private Key Encryption

The most commonly used data encryption strategy in businesses is private key encryption. It’s the process of applying a certain key to all or specific files which are being stored or transferred. This ensures that your company’s data is being encrypted in line with the user’s needs who is using it.

This encryption method often requires more time and attempts than other methods, so you want to be 100% sure it’s working properly.

Public Key Encryption

If you want to encrypt all or some of your data, private key encryption is not the right choice. In that case, you need a public key encryption solution. This requires that you get a certificate from an accredited company to protect your data. If the information is encrypted with the same key used to sign it, it will be unreadable. The certificate is attached to your specific file and since the sender has their private key, they can decrypt it when they want.

Full Disk Encryption

Another security method, but this time it applies to all your data stored on your computer. Instead of relying on a private key, you use the full disk encryption process instead. During this procedure, the operating system is shut down and the whole hard drive is formatted with secure software that cannot be altered. Once done, it can be decrypted using the same private key that was used during installation. This ensures that nobody can access your files without their own hidden partition which contains their private key.

Public-key Encryption

This is a relatively uncommon data encryption strategy, but it is becoming more and more popular in recent times. In this case, you have a public key that is being used to encrypt the data and the recipient has a private key that can decrypt it. Because of how it’s being used, this is a very secure method of encryption which ensures that all your company’s data remains safe from hackers.

VPN Encryption

There are two types of VPN encryption: tunneling and routing. In tunneling, your data is being sent through a secured point in the middle of the network. This feature ensures that your connection is completely secure and you can sleep well at night knowing that no one can intercept your company’s data. In routing VPN encryption, your data is being sent through a predefined path through the various servers in the network without affecting its integrity whatsoever.

IPsec

One of the most commonly used encryption methods is IPsec. It’s a protocol that allows you to create a secure Internet connection between your LAN and another network device. IP Security is mainly used by organizations in order to encrypt traffic between their networks. However it can be used in personal networks as well if you want your company’s data to remain hidden from outsiders. Some experts recommend using this data protection strategy in your home too, but it’s a matter of personal preference.

SSL

While SSL is being used for over a decade, its popularity has been growing steadily especially in recent years. It’s a method that allows you to encrypt data before sending it between two devices. In the case of an outgoing connection from your computer, this is how it works: you’re transferring data from one network to another and SSL will encrypt the information as it goes through the Internet. The SSL data is then encrypted and decrypted at the end points of the network.

TLS

Transport Layer Security is a form of encryption that has been used for over 15 years and it’s only getting more popular around the world with each passing year. This encryption method uses digital certificates to authenticate both parties involved in a connection and it can be used for any type of traffic you want to send through the Internet. TLS is used in all kinds of settings and it’s a very easy to use method that has been quickly revolutionizing the data protection industry in recent times.

Ecryption

This type of encryption is used in order for you to store your data in a secure format. With this method, you’re able to encrypt the data on the disk and its access paths and other parts of the hard drive. This ensures that the access to the files and folders will be strictly limited and nobody can access them without special authorization and authorization.

Esnetion Encryption

This data protection method uses asymmetric encryption to ensure that all your data remains private between two peers or devices. In this case, the public key is used to encrypt it and the private key will decrypt it. The public key can be used by anyone in order to encrypt information, while only one person with access to their private key can decrypt it. This is one of the most popular encryption methods around the world because it doesn’t require that the person who has access to the private key to be online at all times.

Domain Name System (DNS) Encryption

This level of security is a way for you to encrypt all your DNS traffic on your network. In this case, a private key is used to encrypt the information before it’s sent out and a public key will be used to decrypt it. If the person who has access to the private key wants to prove that they have it, they can actually sign a message with their public key. This way, the other party knows that they have access to the private key or that it is fake.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Encryption

Usually used in connection with services like SSH, FTP is a file transfer protocol which is being replaced by SFTP. It’s an encrypted format which allows you to transfer files between two computers securely. FTP uses an unencrypted protocol and it’s known for its simplicity and reliability.

Encrypting File System (EFS)

This is a Microsoft Windows feature which allows you to encrypt files and folders on your operating system. This way, even if someone has physical access to your hard drive, they will not be able to retrieve the data without the right private key. Windows uses EFS in order for you to encrypt files that are being accessed by multiple users.

Email Encryption

Most people use this type of encryption in their emails when they want them to be read only by a certain recipient. In this case, the email is encrypted to allow only the recipient to decrypt it and read its contents. This also prevents any intermediaries from being able to intercept the message and read it. This is why many individuals use email encryption when sending messages between two parties for their personal information.

Conclusion

When choosing the right encryption strategy for your company, you need to make sure that you are getting the right level of security. This means that you want it to be easy to use and extremely difficult for hackers and identity thieves to decode. There are many different types of encryption available and some methods are more secure than others. Although it may seem like a trivial detail, it is important to know which encryption method is best suited for what you’re trying to do.

See this article on the basics of data security.