There were 535 security breaches in the United States in 2011, resulting in more than 30 million consumer records being stolen. Hundreds of cyber attacks have already been reported this year, and the number is growing with more accounts of hackers breaking into big companies’ computer systems every week. As secure file transfer services for protecting consumer information have become more pertinent than ever before, businesses need to start thinking about updating their computer security systems and using managed file transfer methods. Encryption is one way to protect data that is both at rest and in transit.
What is Encryption?
Encryption is a technique that uses a special key to hide messages. Encryption was, and still is, frequently used during wars to protect secret messages from being deciphered by enemy forces. Today, it is commonly used by businesses to protect private consumer information that is stored in their computer systems or transferred over their networks. Encryption works by scrambling a message and then providing a designated user(s) with the key to unscramble it. This way, the message is only available to people who have access to the key.
Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption
There are two different ways of encrypting a message, and they are symmetric and asymmetric encryption. What’s the difference?
Symmetric – Symmetric encryption uses a special key to change the content of a message. This key could be a number, word or combination of both. This is the more traditional form of encryption, and can be as simple as moving each letter from a message over one space. The key for this message would indicate that in order to decrypt the message, you need to move each letter back one space. Anyone with this key could read the message, which is where symmetric encryption sometimes poses a problem. If the key somehow falls into the wrong hands, or it is intercepted as it is being sent to another user, private information could easily be stolen.
Asymmetric – For asymmetric encryption, two related keys are used to encrypt and decrypt the message, making stealing the key more difficult. This form of encryption provides a more secure file transfer service and was created in response to the potential threats that can affect symmetric encryption. Asymmetric encryption uses both a public key, which anyone can use to encrypt a message, and a private key, which only you can use to decrypt the message. A message that is encrypted with your private key can only be decrypted with the matching public key. This adds an extra level of security to protecting information.
Encryption is an important method for protecting sensitive information and should be used by businesses that handle private consumer data. As secure file transfer services become more important in today’s digital world, companies should exercise more caution and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their customers from potential cyber attacks.
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