Have you ever been guilty of passing notes at school? If so, you’ll remember the fear of those notes being intercepted by someone who isn’t meant to read them — like a bully or, worse, your teacher.
Sending data over the Internet is much the same. Your digital life, including banking and credit information, personally identifiable information, and even social site login credentials, is vulnerable when sent over unsecured networks. A recent cybersecurity report found that 33 percent of New Zealanders have experienced Cybercrime in the past 12 months.
What is encryption?
Encryption is a process that scrambles plaintext so that it can only be read by the person with the secret code or decryption key. It helps in providing data security for sensitive information.
Encryption takes plain text, such as a text message or email, and encrypts it in an unreadable format – called “ciphertext.” This helps protect the confidentiality of digital data stored on computer systems or transmitted over a network such as the Internet. Then, when the intended recipient has access to the message, the information is translated back to its original form – decoding. To unlock the news, the sender and recipient must use a “secret” encryption key – a set of algorithms that encrypt and decrypt data into a readable format.
How does encryption keep the Internet safe?
Conducting business without your personal information entering an organization’s computer system is nearly impossible. That’s why knowing how to keep that data privacy is important. Encryption plays an essential role in this task.
Most legitimate websites use encryption protection called “secure sockets layer” (SSL), a form of encryption of data sent to and from a website. This prevents attackers from accessing that data while it is in transit.
Want to make sure a site uses this technology? Look for the padlock icon in the URL bar and the “s” in the “https://”. You know you conduct secure, encrypted online transactions if you see these signs.
Why is encryption important?
Concerns about internet privacy are real. Encryption helps protect your online privacy by turning personal information into “for your eyes only” messages intended only for the parties who need it – and no one else. You must ensure that your emails are sent over an encrypted connection or that you encrypt every message. If you are checking your email using a web browser, please take a moment to ensure that SSL encryption is available. Hacking is big business. Cybercrime is a global business, often run by multinational corporations. Many large-scale data breaches in the news show that cybercriminals are usually out to steal personal information for financial gain.
A 2022 cybersecurity report, conducted online in conjunction with The Harris Poll of 1,000 adults in New Zealand, revealed that cybercrime victims in New Zealand surveyed spent an average of 4.8 hours solving their problems, with an average loss of NZD 135 by Cybercrime.
Can scammers use encryption to commit Cybercrime?
Encryption is designed to protect your data but can also be used against you. Targeted ransomware is a cybercrime that can affect organizations of all sizes, including government agencies. Ransomware can also target individual computer users.
How do ransomware attacks arise?
Attackers deploy ransomware to encrypt a victim’s various devices, including computers and servers. Its purpose is to convince victims to pay to restore access to their important files, data, video, and images. The attackers often make ransom demands before giving the key to decrypt the encrypted data.
Ransomware attacks on government agencies can shut down services, making it difficult, for example, to get a license, get a marriage license, or pay a tax bill.
Ransomware attacks targeting large organizations and government agencies usually generate the biggest headlines. But ransomware attacks can happen to you too.
How can you protect yourself from ransomware?
Here are some tips to protect your devices from ransomware attacks and the risk of your data being encrypted and inaccessible.
Install and use trusted security software on all your devices, including your mobile phone, and keep it current. It can help protect your devices from cyber attacks. Use a VPN that offers bank-level encryption. Good online security products have them built in and can enable you to live your digital life safely. Update your operating system and other software. This can fix security issues. Avoid reflexively opening email attachments. Why? Email is one of the main methods of spreading ransomware. Be wary of email attachments that advise you to enable macros to view their contents. If you enable macros, macro malware can infect multiple files. Back up your data to an external hard drive. If you are the victim of a ransomware attack, you can probably recover your files once the malware is cleaned up. Consider using cloud services. This can help reduce ransomware infections, as many cloud services keep previous versions of files so you can “roll back” to the unencrypted form.
What is encryption used for?
It is important to encrypt the messages, files, and data you send if they are personal, sensitive, or classified. For example, you don’t want hackers intercepting your doctor’s emails about a disease. You don’t want criminals to access your financial information after logging into your online bank account. And you don’t want scammers getting behind that confidential report you’re reviewing for your employer. So it is essential to encrypt all this data to keep it secret.
What is the strongest encryption method?
Several encryption methods are considered effective. Advanced Encryption Standard, commonly known as AES, is popular among those who want to protect their data and messages. AES is trusted, effective, used worldwide, and might stand between you and a cybercriminal attack.