In the modern, technology-oriented world like the one we live in, it is not enough to constantly seek to improve every aspect of the software and hardware we use. Right alongside the experiences that are becoming better should also be an increased amount of security. As the world gets more digitized and as more and more data is created, there also need to be new solutions for protecting it all and safekeeping it from the prying eyes.
Data Security
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The importance of data security can never be underestimated. While there are numerous solutions to counter cyber attacks and hackers, incidents still happen in which those whose files are being stolen are left helpless. One of the best ways to protect everything in the age of information technologies is encryption.
Encryption ensures that the sensitive data in question is encoded and that it stays hidden from any unauthorized user. As a result, private information and sensitive data are safely protected. Even if an authorized party gains access to your data, they are unable to read or in any way understand or use its content.
Knowing about encryption and its uses is the only way for you to protect your sensitive data going forward. In order to help you with that, this article will look into encryption as an important tool that ensures security for any type of data and how it can lead to more trust among the users. Without any further ado, let us dive in and see what this encryption is really all about.
Encryption guarantees trust
Trust is a delicate feeling in general and it always has been. It is even harder to pinpoint and guarantee when it comes to the execution of financial activities in a world led by technology. It takes so much to build, and so little to break beyond repair. You must have probably asked yourself this question at least once: In a secure network that consists of several strangers’ PCs, how come a bad one cannot hack the network and steal all the Ethers? This relevant question can be answered by pointing out the methodologies that the Blockchain, the system on which the cryptocurrencies are based, adopts. These methodologies are mainly asymmetric cryptography, peer-to-peer (P2P) computing, and cryptographic hashing.
Often called public-key cryptography, asymmetric cryptography ensures that secure messages are sent over a network, in which neither the receiver nor sender do not trust the communication channel. When the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is considered, those messages are simply transactions that are verified, signed and sent to the network. The word “asymmetric” comes from the notion that each party possesses a pair of two distinct but related keys without which the transaction would not be possible.
Public-key cryptography is very secure when it is used the right way. Apart from this, there is no need for a secure channel among the parties. This can be very helpful since it allows any computer that runs the protocol to join the network, without redundant vetting. Yet, the complexity of this, mainly due to the computation of the data encryption, ensures that it is useful just for small objects including the random alphanumeric string that turns out to be your private key. As a result, encryption should be used sparingly. At a time when several transactions are being carried out daily, the importance of encryption in a secure app, such as BitQL, is of the utmost importance.
It is safe to affirm that, at a high level, ethereum can adopt encryption to verify that every change that is made to account balances in the EVM are accurate and legitimate. For many computer science beginners, the encryption mechanism can be rather confusing. For now, there are important terms that can be beneficial. Some of them are introduced in the following sections so do keep reading to learn more.
Symmetric Encryption
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Symmetric encryption involves a process whereby just one of the keys, a private key, is needed to carry out the encryption and decryption processes of electronic information. In this case, the entities that communicate must exchange between themselves the key to be used in the decryption process.
The use of symmetric encryption ensures that data can be converted to a form that is difficult to be deciphered by any individual who has no possession of the secret key required to decrypt it. This differs from asymmetric encryption that requires both public and private keys for encryption and decryption. It is a simpler solution but arguably a more secure one.
Cryptographic Hashing
This is an algorithm that takes a random amount of data input and generates a certain amount of output of texts, often regarded as a hash value, or simply hash. This text can then be stored rather than the password and used some other time to verify the user. To put it simply, it uses a text made up of random data instead of the password and it is reusable.
Digital Signature
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This is a mathematical technique used for maximum security to verify and validate the legitimacy and authenticity of a message or a digital document. In this way, the creator of a message can easily attach a code that can act as a signature. Just like a regular signature, it can look like whatever you can think of as long as it makes sense and as long as it ties it to you.
Conclusion and Takeaways
The topic of protecting data and sensitive information has been ongoing since the very onset of the IT age. It is natural to want to protect what is yours, whether it is physical or digital. Considering how important the digital is nowadays, and how quickly the physical is losing its importance, we need to find new ways to protect the assets we need. Encryption is among the best solutions we have and it comes in more than one version.
Depending on what you need you can pick and choose whichever suits your needs best. The key part is to always use it. It is not a strange fact that most financial activities attract people with fraudulent intentions. It is where the business is being done and where the most valuable data is stored.
Your data may not be as important as somebody else’s, but it is crucial to you and you need it to be safe. That is all that matters, and as a result, there is always a need to protect your data from the risks of unauthorized access as you conduct your daily affairs. Think about encrypting your assets and you will never again have to look over your shoulder.
