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CyNexLink Blog • December 4, 2017
With the growing menace of cyber espionage and software hacking, cryptography has become an essential part of communication on the web.
The goal of cryptography is to keep communications secret as they travel across an insecure web. Encryption, a component of cryptography, has become a critical tool in guarding data from the prying eyes of cyber criminals.
“Encryption works,” said former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. “Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on.”
Encryption is essentially based on mathematical algorithms that deny a person’s ability to see information unless they have a code or key.
Here’s five elements to constructing a successful encryption strategy:
- Work Together: Collaboration amongst a company’s management, IT and operations members is necessary to foster a strong encryption strategy. Each business limb should come together to identify and analyze the regulations, laws and guidelines that will be utilized while making decisions on purchases and implementation. The group should also identify risk-prone areas like laptops and mobile devices.
- Guard Codes and Keys: The organization’s keys and certificates need to be secured. If this information is at-risk, then whatever security controls are in place can easily be stormed and overcome. There are many businesses that lack the understanding of the thousands of keys and certificates and what they are used for. It’s prudent for businesses to comprehend the use of keys and certificates, who has access to them and when and how they are used. Therefore, keys and certificates should be managed centrally.
- Implement Encryption Solutions with External Help: Once key management scenarios are cemented, a company needs to find encryption solutions. Generally, it’s desirable for businesses to try the solutions out before purchasing. Here, it would be desirable to seek the counsel of an independent organization that can aid in the testing and evaluation of potential solutions.
- Control Access: Accessing data needs to have stringent authorization standards. This is critical in the prevention of external tampering with sensitive organizational information. Businesses should have strong file permissions, access-control techniques, passwords and two-factor authentication.
- Pre-deployment: Before rolling out the encryption solutions, companies should have policies agreed upon by management, business partners and third parties that will handle data. If these partners and parties are unwilling to adhere to the guidelines, then companies cannot risk handing over sensitive information.
In the folds of the insecure web lie external threats that crave sensitive information. Companies need to defend themselves from these threats and the best way to accomplish that is with encryption. But, it’s incumbent on owners and managers to formulate the adoption of encryption in a thoughtful manner in order to fortify staunch defenses against the lurking criminals.
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There is no such thing as too much of a good thing…
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