What Is Data Encryption - Types, Algorithms, Techniques & Methods

Guide to Data Encryption - Its Types, Process, and Purpose 

A password or secret key may be used to encrypt data, making it difficult for anybody except the person who knows the password or key to access it. The two types are ciphertext (encrypted data) and plaintext (unencrypted information).

Many enterprises currently use a widespread and effective data security technology, encryption. Public-key and symmetrical asymmetric encryption are the two most used encryption methods for encrypting data. Know about the best coding language to learn.

Data Varieties Encryption

There are two forms of encryption today: symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption. The term refers to whether or not the same key is helpful for encryption and decryption.

What is Symmetric Encryption?

The same key is helpful for encryption and decryption in symmetric encryption. As a result, a safety mechanism must establish for transferring the key between sender and receiver.

What is Asymmetric Encryption?

Asymmetric encryption employs the concept of a key pair, in which a distinct key is helpful for encryption and decryption. One of the keys is often referred to as the private key, while the other is the public key.

When a person owns a private key, that person maintains the private key, whereas the public key may be shared with others or made public.

In addition, only the recipient's private key may decode data encrypted using the recipient's public key. As a result, data may share without fear of unauthorized or illegal access to the data.

What is Hashing?

Hashing is an encryption method that creates a fixed-length value summarizing the contents of a file or communication. It is known mistakenly as an encryption mechanism.

Hash functions are used in cryptography to give digital signatures and integrity controls; however, since no secret key is employed, the message is not private because it may reproduce hash.

Why Is Data Encryption Necessary?

If someone is wondering why corporations need to use encryption and keep track with an encryption algorithms, consider the following four reasons:

Authentication: Public key encryption demonstrates that the origin server possessed the private key lawfully granted an SSL certificate. When there are so many fake websites, this is a must-have feature.

Privacy: Encryption ensures that no one other than the legal receiver or data owner may read messages or access data. This safeguard stops fraudsters, hackers, internet service providers, spammers, and government agencies from accessing and reading sensitive information.

Regulatory Compliance: Many sectors and government agencies have standards requiring firms who interact with consumers' personal information to maintain that data encrypted. HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and the GDPR are a few examples of regulatory and compliance requirements that need encryption.

Security: Encryption protects data against unauthorized access, whether in storage or transit. Even if a corporate-owned device is lost or stolen, the data contained on it is likely to remain safe provided the hard disc is adequately secured. Encryption also protects data from hostile actions such as man-in-the-middle assaults and allows parties to converse without the worry of data breaches.

Important Software Encryption Terminology

Algorithm: Algorithms, often known as ciphers, are the rules or instructions for the encryption process. Encryption algorithms, or ciphers, include Triple DES, RSA, and AES.

Decryption is the process of transforming unreadable ciphertext into readable data.

A key is a random string of bits used to encrypt and decode data. Each key is distinct, and longer keys are more difficult to break. The most common critical lengths for private keys are 128 and 256 bits and 2048 bits for public keys.

You have complete control over your PGP keys with GoAnywhere Open PGP Studio, and you can quickly choose the encryption algorithms you wish to support with your keys.

Keys: Symmetric vs. Asymmetric

Cryptographic critical systems are of two types: symmetric and asymmetric.

All parties in an asymmetric key system (also known as a private key system) share the same key. The keys are helpful to encrypt and decode communications, and they must keep secret, or the security is jeopardized. Ensure that all parties get the same key and must distribute the keys securely.

While this is possible, the security restrictions required may render this system unsuitable for broad and commercial usage on an open network such as the Internet. This issue can solve with asymmetric vital schemes.

Asymmetric vital systems (public/private critical systems) benefit from two keys. One key is secret (the "private key"). The "public key" is made publicly accessible. The mathematical connection between public and private keys necessitates the other.

Options for Data Encryption in GoAnywhere

GoAnywhere, a managed file transfer (MFT) service, offers several features and encryption standards to secure the privacy and integrity of your organization's data. Sensitive encrypted data are safeguarded both in transit and at rest with GoAnywhere.

Selecting the Best Encryption Software and Method

When deciding which encryption protocols to use, consider various variables with the encryption method. The GoAnywhere encryption software's versatility enables you to choose the encryption standard for each transmission. Before deciding on an encryption standard and its encryption method, consider the following:

- Which data encryption solution best meets the needs of my organization?

- What is the level of sensitivity of the data being exchanged?

- How will the data be delivered (for example, FTP, Email, or HTTP)?

- Are huge files (that should be compressed) being exchanged?

- Is it better to encrypt the data (before transmission) or the connection?

- What encryption standards are supported by your trade partner?

A trade partner may impose the encryption standards that they support. Many banks, for example, demand their clients to encrypt data using the Open PGP encryption standard.

Main Purpose of Data Encryption

Data encryption protects digital data privacy stored on computers and sent via the Internet or other computer networks. The encryption method with a modern encryption algorithm has replaced the old data encryption standard (DES).

These encryption algorithms provide secrecy and are at the heart of essential security activities like authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. Authentication allows for verifying a communication's origin, while integrity ensures that the contents of a message have not changed since it was delivered.

Non-repudiation also assures that a message sender cannot deny providing the news.

The Data Encryption Process

Plaintext data is encrypted using an encryption technique and an encryption key. The procedure produces ciphertext, which can only be seen in its original form if decoded with the correct key.

The same secret key, symmetric-key ciphers encrypt and decode a message or file. While symmetric-key encryption is substantially quicker than asymmetric encryption, the sender must exchange the encryption key with the receiver before decoding the message.

As businesses increasingly need to securely share and maintain large keys, most data encryption services have evolved and employ an asymmetric method to exchange the secret key after encrypting data using a symmetric technique.

Asymmetric cryptography, often known as public-key cryptography, on the other hand, employs two distinct keys, one public and one private. As it is known, the public key may share with everyone, but the private key must keep secret.

The Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm is a public-key cryptosystem commonly used to safeguard sensitive data, mainly when it transfers over an unsecured network such as the Internet.

The popularity of the RSA method stems from the fact that both the public and private keys may encrypt a message to ensure the secrecy, integrity, validity, and non-reliability of electronic communications and data through digital signatures.

Difficulties in Contemporary Encryption

The most basic attack technique against encryption is brute force, which attempts various keys until the correct one is known. Because the length of a key determines how many keys may utilize, this kind of attack is more likely to occur.

It's vital to remember that encryption strength is directly related to key size, but as the crucial size grows, so does the number of resources needed to complete the calculation.

Side-channel assaults and cryptanalysis are two approaches for cracking a cipher. Side-channel attacks target the encryption's implementation rather than the cipher itself. These assaults are more likely to succeed if a system's design or execution flaw.

Similarly, cryptanalysis entails identifying and exploiting a spot in the encryption. Cryptanalysis is more probable when the encryption is flawed.

Solutions for Data Encryption

Data encryption solutions for data security may encrypt devices, emails, and data itself. These encryption capabilities combine with device, email, and data control powers in many situations. As workers utilize external devices, portable media, and online applications increasingly often as part of their everyday business activities, companies and organizations confront the problem of securing data and avoiding data loss.

As workers transfer data to disposable devices or upload it to the cloud, sensitive data may no longer be within the company's control and security. Consequently, the finest data loss prevention systems prevent data theft and virus introduction through removable and external devices and online and cloud applications.

They must also verify that devices and apps are helpful correctly and that data is protected by auto-encryption even after leaving the enterprise.

As previously stated, email management and encryption is an essential components of a data loss prevention system. Secure, encrypted email is the only solution for a remote workforce, BYOD, and project outsourcing for regulatory compliance.

Premier data loss prevention solutions enable your staff to continue working and collaborating through email while the software and tools tag, categorize, and encrypt critical data in emails and attachments. These systems automatically warn, block, and encrypt data according to message content and context, such as user, data class, and recipient.

While data encryption may seem complex and challenging, data loss prevention software handles it every day. Data encryption is not an issue that your firm must solve alone. Encryption and device, email, and application management are key features of a top data loss protection package.

List of Most Effective Encryption Algorithms

Encryption is a cyber security concern that is often in the news, often being blamed for political bodies concealing terrorist actions. An encryption expert may believe that this unique technology fundamental to protecting the Internet is unfairly maligned.

Encryption is a means of transforming data into an unreadable format so that only authorized parties may access it.

There are several encryption methods available as per the encryption algorithm followed at current. Here are five of the most common:

Blowfish

Blowfish is another encryption algorithm that is trying to get rid of DES. This symmetric tool breaks messages into 64-bit chunks and encrypts each one individually. As a species, Blowfish is known for being quick, flexible, and unbreakable.

Furthermore, it's in the public domain so that everyone can use it. Therefore it's free, which adds to its allure. Blowfish is extensively helpful in e-commerce platforms, payment security, and password management solutions.

Triple DES

Triple DES is the successor encryption algorithm to the original Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm, developed in response to hackers who discovered how to break DES.

Its symmetric encryption, which was previously the most extensively used symmetric method in the business, but gradually phases out. TripleDES encrypts UNIX passwords and ATM PINs by applying the DES algorithm three times to each data block.

AES

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a trusted standard encryption algorithm utilized by the US government and other organizations. Although 128-bit keys are incredibly efficient, AES also supports 192- and 256-bit keys for more demanding encryption tasks. Except for brute force assaults, AES is known as impenetrable. Regardless, many internet security experts predict AES will ultimately become the industry standard for encrypting data in the private sector.

RSA

RSA is an asymmetric public-key encryption method used to encrypt data delivered over the Internet. RSA encryption is solid and trustworthy because it generates a vast amount of nonsense, confuses would-be hackers, and forces them to waste a significant amount of time and energy to get into systems.

Twofish

Blowfish's replacement is Twofish, another encryption method in use. It is a license-free, symmetric encryption algorithm that decrypts 128-bit data blocks. Furthermore, Twofish always encrypts data in 16 rounds regardless of key size.

Twofish is ideal for both software and hardware settings and is known as one of the quickest of its kind. This strategy is used by many of today's file and folder encryption software solutions.

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman Group (RSA)

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman is an asymmetric encryption technique, an encryption method that is based on factoring the product of two big prime integers. Only a person who knows these two digits can effectively decode the message.

RSA is extensively used in digital signatures, although the technique slows down when encrypting vast amounts of data.

What Makes Asymmetric Encryption So Effective?

The first (and most obvious) benefit of using this type of encryption is improved data security. Keys are classified as public or private. The public key encrypts data, while the private key decrypts it.

Asymmetric encryption is a godsend for web/email servers that connect to hundreds of thousands of clients per minute since they only need to keep and preserve a single key. Another critical issue is that public-key cryptography enables you to establish an encrypted connection without first meeting offline to exchange keys.

The second important element of asymmetric encryption is authentication. As previously shown, material encrypted with a public key can only decode with a private key. As a result, it ensures that the data is only viewed and decrypted by the entity intended to receive it. In layman's words, it confirms that you are speaking with the person or organization that you believe you are.

Conclusion

Encryption encrypts data (messages or files) only to be read or accessed by authorized persons. Encryption software scrambles the data being delivered using complicated encryption algorithms.

Once received, the data may be decrypted using a key given by the message's source. When it comes to encryption technology, strength, length, and compatibility all play a role in working.

Because encryption makes information unreadable to an unauthorized entity, data stays private and secret, whether transferred or kept on a system. Unauthorized parties will only observe a disorganized swarm of data.

Furthermore, encryption technology helps ensure data integrity since specific encryption algorithms defend against forgery and manipulation. The capacity of technology with the encryption method to secure information necessitates the effective management of encryption and decryption keys by authorized parties.

If you are aspiring to make a successful career in data science, enroll in the Data Science Master Program and get started. It covers important data science concepts like data analysis, data visualization, NLP, SQL, Statistics, and more. To get full details about the data science master certification program, chat with our experts