All Data Should Really Be Encrypted

Encryption, like so many elements of cybersecurity, is often seen as just another buzzword that the public simply doesn’t need to concern themselves with… but as cyberattacks continue at their current rates, the opposite is the actual truth. Let’s talk about what encryption is, and why it has become more important than ever that it is put into practice in both professional and private life.

What is Encryption?

While this is an extremely simplified version of it, encryption is a data security measure that scrambles and alters data beyond recognition, requiring a special digital key to restore it to its original state. For instance, let’s assume we wanted to secretly share one of Shakespeare’s most well-known passages:

“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

If Shakespeare wanted to keep this passage a secret until it was revealed to the actors playing the roles (and if he had the technology to do so, of course) he could have used encryption to share his digital musings securely. With encryption, Shakespeare could ensure that only the actor playing Juliet (we’ll call him Edmund) could see the above passage, as Edmund would have the decryption key necessary to resort the message to its legible form. Anyone else attempting to view it would only see the following:

uc8m4SExMCHDW+c2YMY8cTE0GtbNajqWZUhTiMEo+2KX4PONxXQPc/Mozo0hMTAhKPPdRB3gdJskByExMCG/kLP6mJoI2ONp/K+YKsZ29PspYl6+4+Ny2YadkVRlITEzIeCfqsFCcst27PRuHojWY5CbVbU/+Hvonli9ITEyIWsCFJ/jq4uVITAhyNEqT6Wnv/uvQBmXinJRwbn3w1ODjYLLLqH3MUVQR0Lb1Fbwcjhem73+LGNX0A4ecI1SyOD8ORf+riNFPV7pqhjJhEFmZUxyFrHgv95UITAhMfR7DsLggX81u0AloX92zjAg2+lioiExMSFT9t433duf5Gc=

Of course, Shakespeare did not have access to digital technology, but your business and employees do.

Encryption is a Great Way to Protect Data, and Should Be Used Wherever Available

OnSite I.T. is here to help. We’ll put various data protections in place, including ensuring that your data is as protected as possible whether it is at rest in storage or being transmitted. Reach out to us to learn more about how encryption works, and find out how we can allow you to benefit from it and other security IT solutions.

Give us a call at (403) 210-2927 today!