What is Encryption, and Why Do We Need It?

When encryption is discussed, one of its high points that business professionals try to hammer home is that it’s more secure. But what does encryption really mean for businesses? Does it adequately protect data and devices? We’ll walk you through a brief rundown of how encryption works and the role it plays in keeping your business secure.

What is Encryption?
Encryption is a security measure that’s designed to help you keep your data safe on the off-chance that it’s ever stolen by hackers. If a hacker has access to the file, then they can use any of the data they can access, which could be a lot if you’re unlucky. Encryption removes this factor by scrambling the data in a way that renders it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the decryption key. This effectively makes the data useless, as high-quality encryption can take insane amounts of time and processing power to crack.

One technology solution that uses encryption particularly well is a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN can be used by your employees to securely access your network across an Internet connection, no matter their location. It’s like a bridge between the employee’s device and your data. Imagine that there is a clear tube connecting your infrastructure to the employee device; any onlooker will be able to see the contents. Encryption makes it so that it’s more opaque, or less clear, making it more difficult for hackers to steal your data while it’s in transit.

Why is it Important?
Considering how important security is in today’s data-driven environment, you need to take any and all precautions possible to ensure your organization isn’t at risk. Encryption in particular is important because it’s a fail-safe that protects your data should a hacker somehow acquire it. With this in mind, you need to take preventative measures now while you still can. Remember, as long as your data can be stolen in a readable state, hackers will seek it out, so take matters into your own hands now to prevent a catastrophe in the future.

Washington Works can help your organization secure its data with encryption. To learn more, reach out to us at 301-571-5040.