encryption.

what is encryption.

Encryption is the method by which information is converted into a secret code that hides the information's true meaning. It helps provide data security for sensitive information.

how encryption protects your data.

When you encrypt your files, they can only be read by the person who has the secret code or decryption key. This means that if someone steals your files, they won’t be able to do anything with them. 

Encryption helps protect the confidentiality of digital data either stored on computer systems or transmitted through the internet. We use devices every day to send, receive, and store a vast amount of personal data, logs or banking information. 

Therefore, encryption is a very important tool for keeping your digital data safe. When the intended recipient accesses the message, the information is translated back to its original form. This is called decryption. To unlock the message, both the sender and the recipient have to use a decryption key that brings data back to a readable format.

why encryption is so important.

• Internet privacy concerns

Encryption helps protect your online privacy by turning personal information into encrypted messages intended only for those they are meant for.

• Hacking danger

Cybercriminals are often out to steal personal information for financial gain.

• Regulations

Encryption helps businesses stay compliant with regulatory requirements and standards. It also helps protect the valuable data of their customers.

two types of encryption.

• Software encryption

Software encryption uses software tools to encrypt your data and typically relies on a password. If you enter the correct password, your files will be decrypted - otherwise, they remain locked. Software encryption is typically quite cheap to implement and is therefore very popular with developers. However, software encryption is only as secure as the rest of your computer or smartphone. If a hacker can crack your password, the encryption is immediately undone.

Also, software encryption tools can cause the whole machine to slow down as data is encrypted/decrypted. Along with that, opening and closing encrypted files is much slower than usual.

• Hardware encryption

A separate processor is dedicated to the task of authentication and encryption. Hardware encryption is increasingly common on mobile devices, like the TouchID fingerprint scanner on Apple iPhones. Hardware encryption is considered to be safer than software encryption because the encryption process is kept separate from the rest of the machine. This makes it much harder to intercept or break. Because of the use of a separate processor, the encryption/decryption process is

much faster.

On the negative side, the hardware-based encrypted storage is usually much more expensive than a software tool. Plus, if the hardware decryption processor fails, it becomes extremely hard to access your information.

the data recovery challenge.

Encrypted data is extremely hard to recover. Even if the raw sectors are recovered from a failed drive, the data is still encrypted – meaning it is still unreadable. Some software encryption systems have built-in recovery mechanisms, but you need to have your recovery options set up in advance.

Hardware encrypted devices don’t typically have these additional recovery options. Many are designed to prevent decryption in the event of a component failure, stopping hackers from disassembling them.

For computer systems, the fastest and most effective way to deal with data loss on an encrypted device is when you copy data to another encrypted device and have a complete backup stored somewhere else. For smartphones, backing up to the Cloud provides a quick and economical copy that you can restore from. Nowadays, most Cloud services encrypt their users’ data too.

If you lose data on your encrypted device, our expert engineers can advise, help, and most likely successfully recover your data.

Kotar Data Recovery has the tools and knowledge to deal with encrypted projects.