Cybersecurity

What is Data Encryption? Definition, Types, Uses, and More

Written by John Terra
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Updated on January 9, 2025

Data security has become a growing concern thanks to our increasing reliance on digital resources. One of the most effective ways of preserving data privacy is to render the data unreadable to unauthorized parties. Enter the process of data encryption.

This article explores the concept of data encryption. We will look at what the term means, how important the process is, its different kinds and uses, and its pros and cons.

And, for those interested in building a career in cybersecurity, we will talk about a cybersecurity bootcamp at the end of the article. So stay tuned!

So, what exactly is data encryption?

What is Data Encryption?

Data encryption maintains data confidentiality and privacy by converting readable text into an encoded format that can only be decoded with the unique decryption key created simultaneously or previously. Users and processes can only read and process the encrypted data after decryption. The decryption key is also kept secret, meaning it must be protected against unauthorized access.

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The Objectives of Encryption Data

Here is what data encryption seeks to accomplish:

Authentication. Data encryption is included among the authentication mechanisms that verify the communication party’s identification.
Confidentiality. Data encryption ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive data and recognize the information.
Data Integrity. Data encryption ensures data integrity by ensuring the encrypted data stays unchanged during transmission. As a result, any unauthorized changes to the encrypted data will make it undecipherable or cause it to fail integrity checks.
Non-Repudiation. Thanks to data encryption, no party can deny that it received or sent a message, thus promoting trustworthiness in data exchanges, digital communications, and transactions.

The Importance of Data Encryption

Vast quantities of sensitive information are managed and stored in the cloud or through connected servers. This information is essential since so much of our lives has become digitized, everything from our finances to leisure activities to many job-related functions. In addition, the continued growth of mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) has raised the stakes in keeping data safe.

Data encryption algorithms encode everyday text so only people with the decryption key can read the information. This process offers security for the personal information that today’s users transmit, receive, and store on their mobile devices, including machines connected to the IoT.

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How Does Encryption Work?

Data encryption technology secures transmitted data (also called “in-flight data”) and stored digital data (known as “at-rest data”) on computer systems and in the cloud. Since the Internet has radically transformed computing and more systems have gone online, modern encryption algorithms, called ciphers, have replaced the obsolete Data Encryption Standard (DES) to preserve today’s IT communications and systems.

These ciphers guard confidentiality and power fundamental security initiatives such as authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. First, the algorithms authenticate the messages to verify their origin and then check their integrity to verify that their contents stay unaltered. Finally, the non-repudiation stage prevents anyone from denying legitimate activity.

Users can install certain hardware or software apps to ensure safe data transfers in data encryption. Plaintext is transformed into ciphertext using a cryptographic key or collection of agreed-upon mathematical values. The data is decrypted on the recipient’s side using a key that restores the information into readable plaintext.

Since brute force assaults, the process of testing random numbers until the correct combination is found is less apt to be used by unauthorized parties to decrypt data, and the more complex the cryptographic key, the safer the data will be. That’s why passwords are also secured by data encryption; hackers can’t decipher your passwords because the encryption techniques make them unreadable.

The Two Types of Data Encryption

There are two main types of data encryption.

Symmetric Key Encryption

Some algorithms employ a unique key for encryption and decryption processes. In these operations, the unique key has to be secured because the user or system has complete authentication to decode the message. This approach is called “symmetric encryption.” So, symmetric key encryption employs a one-size-fits-all data encryption, with one key used by all parties.

Asymmetric Key Encryption

Other cryptography methods use one key for data encryption and another for data decryption, so anyone with access to public communication can’t decode or read it. This form of cryptography, called “public-key” encryption, is employed in most Internet security protocols. So, asymmetric key encryption uses a public key to encrypt the data, then a private key to translate it back.

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The Uses of Data Encryption

Data encryption has many uses, including:

Laptop and mobile device security
Financial transactions such as ATMs or online purchases
E-mail is typically encrypted with protocols like OpenPGP
Most legitimate websites use a “secure sockets layer” (SSL), a form of data encryption used when data is information to and from a website. SSL keeps attackers from accessing the data while it’s in transit. Find the padlock icon in the URL bar or the “s” in the “https://” to ensure that you are conducting secure, encrypted online transactions.
Encryption can also be used to erase data. Since deleted information can often be restored through data recovery tools, if users encrypt the data first and then throw away the key, intruders could only recover the ciphertext, not the original data.
WhatsApp messages are also encrypted; you might also have an encrypted folder on your smartphone
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, use encryption. Users can encrypt their entire hard drive or even make encrypted voice calls.
Data encryption proves the integrity and authenticity of information using digital signatures. It plays a vital role in digital rights management and copy protection.

Besides these uses, data encryption is an integral part of practically any data security strategy. Hence it’s a crucial concept to master for professionals in this field. An online cybersecurity program can be a great start to your learning.

What is Data Encryption, and What are the Top Algorithms?

There are many data encryption algorithms to choose from, depending on the use case. However, these are the most-used algorithms:

DES (Data Encryption Standard). DES is an old symmetric encryption algorithm no longer suitable for modern applications. Consequently, DES has been superseded by many other encryption algorithms.
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES is the encryption standard employed by the US government. It was designed to be easy to implement in both software and hardware. AES is a symmetric-key algorithm that employs block cipher methods, found in sizes of 128, 192, and 256 bits, with the number of encryption rounds increasing as the size increases.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). The algorithm was developed as an upgrade to RSA and provides better security with significantly shorter key lengths. ECC is an asymmetric method in the SSL/TLS protocol.
RSA. RSA is a one-way asymmetric encryption algorithm recognized as one of the first public-key algorithms. Due to its long key length, RSA is a popular and widely used algorithm on the Internet. Browsers typically use RSA to create secure connections over insecure networks, and it is a vital part of many security protocols, such as OpenPGP, S/MIME, SSH, and SSL/TLS.
Triple DES (3DES or TDES). As the name implies, this algorithm encrypts, decrypts, and then encrypts data again to generate a longer key length by running it three times. To increase security, this algorithm may be run using one, two, or three separate keys. However, since it uses a block cipher, 3DES is vulnerable to attacks like block collisions.
Twofish. Twofish is one of the fastest algorithms available. It is available in sizes of 128, 196, and 256 bits and boasts a complex key structure for additional security. This algorithm is free and included in some of the most notable free software apps, such as PeaZip, VeraCrypt, and KeePass.

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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Data Encryption

Data encryption has its unique pros and cons. For example:

Pros

Data encryption keeps the information distinct from the security of the device where the information is stored. Encryption offers security by letting administrators store and transmit data through otherwise insecure channels.
Encryption helps maintain data integrity, which is essential since hackers don’t only steal information; they often alter the data to commit fraud. Although skilled hackers can modify encrypted data, the data recipients can detect the corruption, allowing for a quick counter-response.
Encryption helps organizations conform to various industries’ different regulations, protocols, and standards.
Data encryption helps protect intellectual property (IP), such as software or music, using encrypted data in a digital rights management system. This process prevents reverse engineering or unauthorized copying or use of copyrighted material.
Data encryption keeps information safe when it migrates to the cloud. Considering the increasing use of cloud services and migrations, this is a vital advantage.

Cons

The user can’t open the encrypted file if a password or key is lost. However, using simpler data encryption keys makes the data insecure, and anybody may access it.
Data encryption is a critical data security process that requires many resources, such as data processing, time, encryption, and decryption algorithms. Consequently, it’s a rather costly approach.
Established data protection solutions might be difficult to implement if users layer them on contemporary systems and applications. This situation might adversely affect the device’s normal operations.
If an organization fails to realize any encryption technique restrictions, it’s possible to create arbitrary requirements and expectations that could undermine data encryption protection.

Data Encryption Best Practices

Data encryption has established best practices that help users get the most out of the process.

Encrypt all sensitive data. No matter how unlikely it is to be stolen or where the information is stored, all sensitive data must be encrypted. Encrypting all sensitive data makes it harder for attackers to damage data if they manage to breach your systems.
Secure the encryption keys. The keys must be protected at every step. Watch for mistakes that would let unauthorized parties access your data. For example, a data encryption key shouldn’t be found in an unencrypted file. Instead, encryption keys should be protected by placing them on a rotating schedule, separating the users’ access limits and duties, and separating the data from the keys.
Always analyze data encryption performance. Effective data encryption should be secure and efficient. Data encryption that demands excessive memory and processing time is not optimally performing.

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Does Cybersecurity Interest You?

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