Encryption: Secret codes for small businesses01 June 2006
Fans of Dan Brown's hugely successful novel The Da Vinci Code and the new movie version will no doubt have been caught up in the mysterious allure of secret codes and their decryption.
Da Vinci's cryptex was clever but the majority of people in the UK probably don't realise that there is an even cleverer advanced technological form of encryption that could benefit both personal and business web users alike.
A recent survey from security software firm Steganos found that 64 per cent of people would be more concerned about somebody gaining access to their personal data than they would be about the material cost of a lost or stolen computer or device.
Despite this, the research found that while 70 per cent of people have insured their hardware against loss or theft, just 12 per cent of respondents had protected the information contained on the device with encryption - a modern-day secret code to secure vital business information.
But while 20 per cent admitted that they knew they ought to invest in data encryption, 31 per cent claimed that they did't know anything about it, other than vinegar and papyrus no doubt, or how to implement the technology.
Small businesses
While the loss of a PC or other device is frustrating and expensive, it is nothing compared to the potential threat to small businesses of sensitive company information falling into the wrong hands and the cost of replacing lost data.
Encryption
To protect both enterprise and personal details from prying eyes should a laptop, PDA or PC be lost or stolen, it is a good idea to utilise encryption. This transfers plain text into cipher text, which cannot be read without the use of a key or password. Asymmetric, or public key, encryption involves the use of a key known by everyone who encrypts a message and a corresponding private key known only by the recipient to decipher the message. Symmetric encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decipher the message. Microsoft offers a simply installed encryption package as does VeriSign.
Data backup
Even if the data stored on a device cannot be read by anyone without an encryption key, its loss can still impact upon the business and take months to replace. In order to prevent this, it is a good idea for small businesses to organise an online data backup service. Such a service periodically saves company information to an offsite location, which may then be retrieved if needed. A product such as BT's Datasure will store encrypted files safely so that data can be found no matter what happens to the hardware it is saved on.
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