Importance of Encryption

You might have heard the term ‘Encryption’ in various occasions while reading articles on information security. Encryption is the conversion of electronic data into another form, called cipher text, which cannot be easily understood by anyone except authorized parties. It converts tan original message into the form that cannot be used by unauthorized individuals who makes things tougher for anyone without the tools and knowledge to convert an encrypted message back to its original format and hence, won’t be able to interpret it. Many people may think encryption and encoding are same, but encoding is typically performed for the convenience of storage or transmission, not keeping secrets.

The primary purpose of encryption is to protect the confidentiality of digital data stored on computer systems or transmitted via the Internet or other computer networks. Devices like modems, set-top boxes, smartcards and SIM cards all use encryption or rely on protocols like SSH, S/MIME, and SSL/TLS to encrypt sensitive data. It is used to protect data in transit sent from all sorts of devices across all sorts of networks; encryption is used to protect the information being relayed. Just imagine when you use ATM or do online shopping with the smartphones, make phone calls, press remote button to lock the car; encryption is being used.

When the information is encrypted, there would be a low probability that anyone other than the receiving party who has the key to the code or access to another confidential process would be able to decrypt (translate) the text and convert it into plain, comprehensible text. Businesses use encryption to protect corporate secrets, government’s use it to secure classified information, and many individuals use it to protect personal information to guard against things like identity theft. Encryption is your last defense against malicious security crackers violating your privacy. When all other means of protecting the data on your computer prove fruitless, encryption is the last barrier against your most sensitive data being accessible to people who simply should not have it.

References:

Rouse, M (n.d.). Encryption. Retrieved May 16th 2015 from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/encryption

Perrin, C (2008). The importance of being encrypted. Retrieved May 17th 2015 from  http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/the-importance-of-being-encrypted/

Whitman, M. & Mattord, H. (2014). Management of Information Security. Cengage Learning