Coleman Technologies Blog

What is Encryption?
Encryption is a security measure meant to thwart any would-be hackers from using your stolen data to further their ambitions. Think about it like this; without encryption, hackers would gain access to your files, plain as day. Encryption provides a measure that keeps hackers from using your organization’s data even if they were to gain access to it. It essentially scrambles data to everyone who doesn’t have the decryption key, rendering it useless.

One particular technology that uses encryption to a considerable degree is a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN can connect your employees to your infrastructure regardless of their location in a secure way. Think of it like this; the connection between your employee’s device and your network is normally a clear tube that can be observed by anyone ambitious enough to look for it. Rather than leave it as is, encryption makes the tube opaque--enough to obscure what’s inside so it’s not quite clear for any unwanted onlookers.

Why is it Important?
You can imagine the immense importance of encryption in today’s data-oriented business world. If you’re not taking every measure possible to secure your data, you could be making a huge mistake. Encryption in particular is important for assuming the absolute worst. You can never know when your data will be stolen, so it’s best to take preventative measures to ensure that it will cause a minimal amount of damage should it occur. If your encrypted data is stolen, it will simply be unusable without spending far too much effort to get the data into a readable state.

Coleman Technologies can equip your business with encryption services that you can count on to keep your data as safe as can be. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

#1: Is security a priority when we build processes?

Your business has a way that it does what it does. Are those processes created with both physical security and cybersecurity in mind? The amount of threats your business is subject to is literally innumerable. Each day new threats are created and used to try and steal money and data from businesses just like yours. When building your business’ processes, the first consideration that isn’t “can I make money this way” has to be about how to secure your business from outside threats.

Some ways you can prioritize security is to train your staff on what threats look like when they come in, ensure that you prioritize access control and proper authentication procedures, and really make sure that your entire staff is educated about the importance in keeping you secure. Making sure that all transferred data is encrypted can also help.

#2: Who has access to my files?

When we talk about access control, we talk about limiting access to data. Not all members of your organization need access to the same data, after all. Doing your best to ensure that some of your most sensitive data is protected not just from people outside your organization, but also inside.

By enabling role-based access and adding in a multi-layered authentication procedure, the security of your organization’s data will be much improved. Another good practice is to keep logs and routinely audit both them and the other protections you put in place. 

#3: How can encryption help my business?

Data in transit can be stolen. Data just sitting there in the open can be too. You will want to ensure that all of your most sensitive data is encrypted both when it’s at rest and when it’s being moved from one location to another. 

Today the most popular forms of encryption are the Data Encryption Standard (DES) or the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Understanding the particulars of encryption may be complex, but knowing how to use it to better secure your business’ data is not. 

#4: Is my security strategy working?

Obviously, the security that you put on your business isn’t plug and play. It needs to be properly configured to meet your business’ specific situation. The best way to get the most comprehensive security resources to protect your business’ network and data is to have knowledgeable consultants help you find the strategies and solutions that are right for you, implement them, and then routinely test them to ensure that they would stand up under pressure. 

If you would like to start this conversation, call the IT experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Encryption is a powerful weapon against hackers that can prevent them from stealing your data and leveraging it against you. Encryption, in its most basic textbook definition, converts your readable data into an indecipherable jumble that can only be reassembled through the use of an encryption key. Small businesses absolutely must utilize encryption to protect customer information, financial records, and other important or sensitive business data. This ensures that it is as protected as possible against those that might do you harm.

One major benefit of encryption is that SMBs can protect customer data with powerful security mechanisms that are next to impossible for hackers to bypass. Some of the data that might be protected by encryption include names, addresses, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers–all of which are at serious risk to data theft. Your customers want to know that you’re doing what you can to keep them safe, and you can improve your relationship with them by using encryption. This will establish your business as one that cares about the security and privacy of its clients, making you that much better in the eyes of new customers.

In regards to legal and regulatory compliance, encryption is a vital tool that helps to keep your business in line with the strict regulations that govern private and sensitive data. Some of the regulations that you might be liable for upholding are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for organizations that handle credit card transactions. Encryption helps businesses meet these standards without the risk of paying steep fines for violating them.

Additionally, encryption can help you protect against data breaches, which can be problematic for any business, small or large. With a data breach, you can expect to deal with financial losses as a result of compliance fines, loss of reputation, and downtime. Encrypting data allows your organization to keep itself safe by making it far more difficult for hackers to conduct a successful data breach. Even if they do manage to steal data, they will have significant trouble decrypting it. At the end of the day, hackers prefer low-hanging fruit, and the more difficult you make their jobs, the less likely they are to want to go through the trouble.

Ultimately, encryption is all about enhancing the overall data security of your business’ data across all of its platforms and devices. Employees who frequently find themselves working out of the office or on multiple different devices or endpoints should absolutely be equipped with encryption. If you implement encryption in this way, you can rest easy knowing that your data is secure as it is accessed on protected devices and networks.

Encryption serves to protect your business from some of the nastiest threats on the Internet, and even businesses with limited IT resources can take full advantage of it. It’s a great way to keep your business’ data secure and to shore up potential vulnerabilities.

Coleman Technologies can equip your business with the encryption it needs to stay secure. Learn more by calling us at (604) 513-9428.