Computer security is dependent on cryptography, which is a technology that has been employed to keep information private by the businesses nowadays. A simple and plain human-based code is too simple for a machine to decode. Hence, the majority of the cryptography which is in use at present completely relies on computers. The cryptosystems encode plain text messages into ciphertext or encrypted messages or decrypt ciphertext messages into plain text using a collection of methods known as cryptographic algorithms.
We very well know that computer encryption belongs to one of these categories, which are asymmetric and symmetric encryption. Moving on further, let us today have a look at what are the applications of these encryptions and how they can be useful in businesses.
Applications of Asymmetric Encryption
- Digital Signatures
Companies and businesses are nowadays moving away from paperwork, authenticity stamps, and ink signatures. Rather, they are switching to digital signatures for they can guarantee the authenticity, validity, and status of an electronic document.
Asymmetric cryptography is used to create digital signatures, which provide a layer of authentication and security to communications delivered over an insecure channel. They uphold the ideas of authenticity, non-repudiation, and secrecy. It is designed to use in electronic money, data storage, software distribution, electronic mail, and many other apps which require data origin verification and data integrity assurance.
Applications of Symmetric Encryption
- Database Encryption
Symmetric cryptography is commonly used during bulk encryption of huge volumes of data due to its superior efficiency and quicker speed. It is used in the banking industry for a variety of reasons, including:
- Encrypting or random number creation
- Validations are used to ensure that the sender of communication is who he claims to be.
- Payment applications such as card transactions where personal identification needs to be protected to deter identity theft without extra costs. This reduces the danger of dealing with money transfers daily.
2. Data At Rest
Data at rest is information that is not continually being transferred from computer to computer or network to networks, such as information kept on a computer, laptop, or a flash drive in another way. The goal of data security at rest is to preserve inactive stored data on any device or network.
Even though this data at rest is generally believed to be less susceptible than data in transit, attackers frequently consider data at rest to be a more lucrative target than other data. Businesses can simply encrypt important files before storing them and encrypt the storage disc to secure data at rest. Symmetric encryption is the best technique to protect the data at rest. When compared to conventional file or folder encryption, symmetric encryption offers numerous advantages.
Lastly, we would inform you that symmetric and asymmetric encryptions link with each other when used together in certain cases like HTTPS or messaging apps. The symmetric one is the quickest encryption algorithms. However, to safely share its secret key, asymmetric encryption is utilized. When used in combination, they help in achieving authenticity, secure communication, and data integrity.