Protecting your organization’s data is incredibly important to keep things running smoothly. Recent cyber attacks from Uber to Equifax exemplify just how much grief a security breach can cause, so finding a way to protect all your business’s information is essential to the business’s success. While it might sound complicated and convoluted to those well-versed in IT, data encryption is an excellent solution when it comes to keeping your data safe.
What is Data Encryption?
Data encryption is the process of translating your data into a secret code so that only those with the password, or decryption code, can access it. Unencrypted data is known as plaintext and encrypted data is known as ciphertext. Data encryption is one of the most effective means of information security and can be classified in one of two ways:
Asymmetric Encryption
Also known as public-key encryption, asymmetric data encryption uses two keys to protect your data: a public key and a private key. The public key is known to everyone, but the private key is only used by the data’s recipient in order to decode the data. For example, everyone in your office has the public code used to encrypt data; however, the only person who is able to decode the information is the recipient of that information.
Symmetric Encryption
Symmetric data encryption uses the same code to both decode and encode the data. Where asymmetric encryption uses one code to encode and a different to decode, symmetric encryption uses the same code for both.
Does Your Company Need Data Encryption?
While you might assume only companies with sensitive or confidential data are in need of data security, organizations operating in any industry have some kind of information that needs protecting. Every year, cyber attacks become more and more sophisticated, which means they are no longer limited to massive corporations. Even if you’re a small, local business, you have information useful to hackers. Data encryption helps to prevent hackers from using proprietary data and information, even if they find a weakness in your website or network. With data encryption, even if all other security measures fail, your company’s sensitive information is still protected.
Managed Network Security Solutions With Integracon
Integracon has over a decade of experience providing managed IT services to companies in all industries. Whether you’re part of a Fortune 500 corporation or a small business around the corner, from the financial sector to the healthcare industry, we are fully equipped to take your network security to the next level. Rest easy knowing your data and information is protected with managed IT solutions from Integracon. Contact Integracon to learn more.
