What is Encryption? Techniques, Working, and Importance
One of the most critical assets of organizations today is the data they possess. They have millions and billions of gigabytes of data including sensitive consumer information, account details, transaction data, sales data, user behavior, customer interaction, sensory data, and the list goes on.
As the number of cybercrimes and amount of data breaches is increasing, protecting this information is their biggest responsibility today. Encryption is a cybersecurity technique that helps protect data during transit as well as at storage.
You must have a clear understanding of encryption concepts and various encryption techniques if you want to succeed in your cybersecurity career. You can easily master this by enrolling in the best cybersecurity courses, training programs, or top cybersecurity certifications.
In this article, we will take you through the basic information about encryption, its importance, and how it works.
What is Encryption?
Encryption refers to a highly advanced data security practice in which encryption algorithms are used to convert normal or plaintext into cipher text (encrypted codes) that makes it unreadable without a decryption key.
The encryption process uses mathematical algorithms to encrypt and decrypt data. So, even if the hackers get unauthorized access to your confidential data, they will not be able to read it without the appropriate decryption key.
Attackers mostly use brute force attacks to access encrypted information which utilizes guessing every possible decryption key to unlock the data. Therefore, it is always recommended to use more complex and longer encryption keys to make the decryption process very difficult.
Why is Encryption very Important?
Organizations understand the value of their data and are ready to employ high-end encryption solutions. The encryption technology is highly reliable and this is why the encryption software market is growing exponentially to reach $22.1 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 15.2% (source – Markets and Markets).
Encryption is very important for organizations because it ensures:
- Confidentiality – by protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access
- Integrity – by retaining data in its original state and preventing any alteration to data at transmission or storage
- Authentication – by verifying the origin of data and ensuring it comes from a trusted source without being forged in between.
Several industries also require compliance with various security standards and regulations such as HIPAA for healthcare, and GDPR for data privacy, and academic institutions need to comply with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
In the age of increasing cyberattacks, encryption helps to provide a strong defense against data breaches, ransomware, and other kind of cyber-attacks.
How does Encryption Work?
Two important types of mathematical encryption algorithms help to convert plain texts into ciphertexts and create decryption keys. The security of your data is directly proportional to number of keys used.
There are two ways in which encryption algorithms work:
- Symmetric Encryption
In the symmetric encryption method, a single key is used for both encryption and decryption of data. So, it is essential that both sender and receiver have the encryption key before data is sent so that conversion between plain texts and cipher texts takes place.
Because of the requirement of a single key, symmetric encryption is comparatively faster and is also easier to manage huge amounts of data.
- Asymmetric Encryption
On the other hand, asymmetric encryption requires two different keys i.e., a private key and a public key. The data is encrypted using a public key by the sender and the receiver needs to use the private key to decrypt the data.
Because of two different keys, the asymmetric encryption technique is a bit slower and no private key exchange takes place in this. It is comparatively more secure than symmetric encryption.
Master Encryption with USCSI®
Encryption is an important element of cybersecurity. By now you must have understood its importance in securing data in transit as well as at rest.
To fully understand this technique, and a variety of encryption algorithms like Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), it is recommended to enroll in organized cybersecurity training programs.
The United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®) offers the best cybersecurity certifications in the world. Whether you are a beginner or a cybersecurity expert, you can find a certification program for you to learn new cybersecurity skills and validate your experience and expertise in your profession.
USCSI® offers the following cybersecurity certifications:
- Certified Cybersecurity General Practitioner (CCGP™) – designed for beginners looking to master the fundamentals of cybersecurity to start their career in this field.
- Certified Cybersecurity Consultant (CCC™) – for intermediate-level cybersecurity professionals with 2 to 6 years of work experience who want to validate their knowledge as efficient cybersecurity consultants.
- Certified Senior Cybersecurity Specialist (CSCS®) – for senior professionals and cybersecurity specialists who want to learn the latest cybersecurity tools and strategies to strengthen their organization’s cybersecurity measures and lead their organizations towards higher security and compliance.
All these cybersecurity certification programs are self-paced online with an approximate duration of 4 to 25 weeks. Students and professionals also get free study materials including HQ lecture videos, eBooks, practice codes, and more to learn, prepare, and crack the certification exam. For pricing, duration, exam schedule, discounts, or any further information, do check out their website to get more details.
Conclusion
Encryption is a great way to protect organizations’ confidential and sensitive information. Though it sounds simple, it can be a complex process. As a cybersecurity professional, you need to know how to encrypt and decrypt data, how to design encryption algorithms, how to implement encryption techniques across the organization’s data, and other elements of encryption. Learning and validating your encryption-related knowledge and skills through the best cybersecurity certifications can enhance your credibility and employability and lead you toward a successful cybersecurity career. Take your first step towards a cybersecurity learning journey.
