A key strategy for preventing unwanted access to sensitive information is encryption. Encryption transforms plaintext into ciphertext, rendering data unintelligible without a key. This ensures that the data cannot be interpreted or utilized by unauthorized personnel, even if it is intercepted or stolen.
As you well know, encryption is a crucial tool for safeguarding sensitive data, including financial records, personal identity information, and private communications, as it helps to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and privacy.
Seamless encryption presents a number of challenges that need to be addressed in order to effectively protect sensitive data.
Securing your company against potential threats, both internal and external should be done without hindering work processes or implementing restrictive and bothersome security measures for your employees.
Understanding Seamless Encryption
Automatic and Transparent. In the area of Data Security, seamless encryption refers to data being encrypted automatically based on certain file conditions and classifications. Additionally, its decryption is transparent to the user.
Automatic Encryption
Manual processes are time-consuming and prone to error. Mapping data risks in real-time from multiple touchpoints and quantifying the financial impact of a potential breach is critical. Automatically encrypting files based on classification (E.G. Data Type - Credit cards, SSN, Bank information and dollar value of risk) is key to doing away with the error-prone manual processes that can leave an organization open and vulnerable; with no active effort.
In the context of an MSP, this automated encryption will provide the highest level of security for clients, while increasing revenue per client and even catapult the MSP to MSSP status.
Transparent Decryption
Encryption is an essential aspect of data security, but what happens when you need to access your encrypted information?
One of the most innovative approaches to decryption is "transparent decryption." With this method, employees can access encrypted data instantly without any latency or password requirements by having an application on their device. This not only makes the process seamless but also ensures that sensitive information remains secure from any potential threats.
The Challenge
Data must be safeguarded against loss, theft, and improper usage. Security and accessibility must, however, coexist in harmony. The ability of authorized individuals to access and use data may be difficult or impossible if information is kept in an overly secure manner, which can hinder productivity and effectiveness.
For instance, accessing and using data that has been encrypted using a very powerful encryption method may be challenging if the decryption key is not readily available. Data breaches, identity theft, and financial loss are just a few of the negative outcomes that can occur if the data is not sufficiently secure against unauthorized access or usage. Seamless Encryption is the answer to this challenge.
There are technical challenges in the process of implementing seamless encryption, such as maximizing performance, as in not slowing down the end user’s machine, as well as performing the encryption with near-zero latency.
Another challenge lies in the ability to implement seamless encryption on the plethora of file types no matter where it may lie; at the endpoint, on the server or on the cloud repository.
Additionally, such encryption must be scalable across operating systems (Windows, Mac)
Tips for selecting the right seamless encryption solution for your organization
- Evaluate security: Identify protected data & assess its security level.
- Check compatibility: Ensure encryption is compatible with existing tech & software.
- Focus on ease of use: Choose a solution that's easy to deploy & use to reduce training & minimize disruptions.
- Ensure scalability: Pick a solution that can grow with your organization.
- Assess performance impact: Evaluate how the encryption solution affects your system's performance.
- Choose a reputable provider: Consider the provider's reputation & track record of delivering secure solutions.
- Ensure compliance: Pick a solution that meets industry regulations & data protection standards.
- Consider cost: Evaluate the solution's cost including upfront & ongoing expenses to ensure it is budget-friendly.
Integrating seamless encryption with other security measures
The aim of Seamless decryption intends to solve two types of risks:
This can work in conjunction with other methods such as EDR or SOC, to track sensitive data user-related activities along with tracking malicious malware and other attack vectors.
In conclusion, Seamless encryption is an innovative approach to data security that helps protect sensitive information from unauthorized access while ensuring ease of access for authorized individuals. The challenges of implementing seamless encryption include maximizing performance, ensuring compatibility with existing technology and software, and ensuring scalability across operating systems.
To choose the right solution for your organization, evaluate security, compatibility, ease of use, scalability, performance impact, provider reputation, compliance, and cost. When integrated with other security measures, seamless encryption helps mitigate both external threats such as ransomware and internal threats such as careless data leakage.
Written By
Guy Bavly is CEO and co-founder of Actifile