Benefits of Adopting Data Encryption in Businesses – CIOReview

The companies apply the data encryption process in their businesses because it offers the best protection against unauthorized access to data.

FREMONT, CA: The cyber threat landscape is becoming increasingly volatile. Today ransomware threats are becoming a common occurrence. The risks are serious, and people's confidential information is in danger. If data security is the primary priority, innovative data encryption is the best technique companies can utilize.

Encryption and cryptography are complicated concepts to understand. For the ordinary individual, the more they learn about it, the more they realize how little they know.

Data encryption is the most effective method of preventing unauthorized access to data. Even though encryption has been demonstrated to be essential for businesses that hold large amounts of sensitive data, it is still not universally used, and much crucial information remains unsecured and vulnerable to hackers. All data, whether at rest or in transit over a network, can be encrypted.

For businesses, implementing efficient data encryption for the first time can be difficult, with the most challenging part is determining where to start. The process of implementing data encryption techniques can be made more accessible by following best practices.

Assess the Data to Encrypt

The companies must evaluate which data can cause the most damage if lost or compromised before encrypting it. Encrypt sensitive information like credit card numbers, names, social security numbers, and trade intellectual property.

To comply with the current compliance regulations, personally identifiable information (PII) needs specific encryption. Even if regulations do not require encryption, it may be the only reasonable and acceptable security for sensitive data and must be used.

Establish Appropriate and Secure Key Management

Once data encryption is in place, the companies must ensure that all decryption keys are appropriately secured and backed up. Before deploying encryption, such keys constitute security vulnerabilities that must be recognized and resolved. Find a safe place to keep encryption keys, and make sure it's not in the same place as the data. It is also essential to keep the backup key in a separate location.

To reduce the risk of isolation generating vulnerabilities, centralize key management is crucial. Keys must be kept in a hardware security module (HSM), which offers hardware-based security.

Assess Encryption Performance

Be sure to evaluate the efficiency of the data encryption method after it has been successfully implemented. If data encryption generates performance problems, like excessive CPU usage, companies must consider using an alternative encryption algorithm or encryption tool.

Logging tools can aid in evaluating the encryption's performance by providing information on what data is being obtained, who is accessing confidential data, and when.

Excerpt from:
Benefits of Adopting Data Encryption in Businesses - CIOReview