The concept of data encryption is one of those things in the modern world that we all hear about pretty much daily, but don’t really know much about. Of course, why would you know the ins and outs of data encryption if you aren’t a cyber boffin? It does seem quite complicated, and the reality is that data encryption at its root really is rather complicated too.
But here’s the thing: if you want to stay safe online and avoid any kind of data security breaches you will need to know a little about data encryption. It is something that we really value the importance of over at Winzum, because if we didn’t we would be putting you guys at risk.
As you can see here [the importance of cyber & data security] the importance of data and cyber security to us is massive, and for this reason we have taken steps to understand what data encryption is exactly. We’re nice too, so we’ll give you lovely lot an overview as well!
In essence, data encryption is much like locking the door to your house when you go out, and for this reason it is of paramount importance if you want to stay safe online. In fact, in the modern world a security breach is way more likely to happen online than it is in reality, so data encryption is hugely important.
You cannot really have data security without data encryption, just like you cannot have theft security without locking your door! Data encryption is basically a conversion of readable data into a version where it can only be read after being decrypted.
Now, we said before that data encryption is incredibly complicated once you get into the nitty gritty, but that doesn’t mean we cannot try and explain how it works in layman’s terms here. At root data encryption works using a set of algorithms and their corresponding “keys”. The algorithm scrambles the data into something unreadable, and the key is there to decrypt it.
There are various methods to do this, and as modern technology gets more advanced computer programmes will inevitably find new ways to encrypt data. The key to data encryption (if you’ll pardon the pun) is keeping the master key private. If you don’t do this you are risking a data security breach, and that is a sure-fire way to not stay safe online.
If you want to stay safe online and avoid any kind of data security breaches, encryption is absolutely vital, because without it your personal data can be seen by pretty much anyone. This is why all bank transactions are heavily encrypted, for example.
Again we will use the idea of locking your house after you leave. Without locking the door anybody would be allowed to wonder in and steal things, the same goes for your valuable data and encryption!