Encrypt Everything: Encryption and Access Controls are Primary Defenses for Data

February 12, 2018

The most recent Thales Data Threat Report, issued in conjunction with 451 Research, found that digitally transformative technologies are shaping the way organizations do business. Ninety-four percent of organizations use sensitive data in cloud, big data, IoT, container, blockchain and/or mobile environments. Unfortunately, as more organizations move toward digital environments – data breaches are now at an all-time high. Out of 1,200+ IT senior security executives surveyed in eight countries, 36% of respondents were already breached in 2018.To combat cyberattacks, organizations have adopted security technologies to protect data at rest and data in transit. Seventy-seven percent of respondents cited data at rest security solutions as being most effective at preventing breaches, with network security (75%) and data-in-motion (75%) following close behind. That being said, 57% of respondents reported spending the most on endpoint and mobile security technologies. When it comes to deploying mobile encryption technologies to protect data at rest, the report found quite a disconnect. While organizations are well-aware that encryption protects data, the majority are not using their security spending on encryption technologies. Only 44% of organizations placed encryption technologies at the top of their list of desired data security purchases in the next year.According to Peter Galvin, chief strategy officer at Thales eSecurity, and Garrett Bekker, principal security analyst at 451 Research, organizations looking to offset the data breach trend and take advantage of new technologies and innovations hould, at minimum, adhere to the following practices:

  • Leverage encryption and access controls as a primary defense for data and consider an “encrypt everything” strategy
  • Select data security platform offerings that address multiple use cases to reduce complexity and costs
  • Implement security analytics and multi-factor authentication solutions to help identify threatening patterns of data use

Here at ETHERFAX, security and protecting data at rest is our top-priority. To guarantee the secure transfer of information between two endpoints, our SENx encrypted fax network utilizes well-defined end-to-end encryption methods such as those defined in the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES). The hybrid encryption scheme uses Elliptic Curve Cryptography to generate a shared secret between peers to seed the encryption process with unique keying material while signing and authentication mechanisms assure the validity of the data in transit.

End-to-end encryption not only protects data at each endpoint, it also protects data at rest. Since information is never decrypted and re-encrypted, even if a third-party were to snoop on the information in transit – it would be indecipherable. Most importantly, end-to-end encryption schemes allow secure transmissions even over unsecured channels.

If your organization is looking for a 100% end-to-end encrypted document delivery solution, look no further. Contact us today to learn more about SENx encryption APIs.

Paul Banco

As CEO of ETHERFAX®, Banco is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leads technology development, including the patented ETHERFAX and ETHERFAX SEN intellectual property. Banco helped organizations automate their fax server operations. As a visionary, he identified the need to leverage the cloud for secure document delivery and co-founded ETHERFAX in 2009 with other telecom industry veterans.

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