File transfer services are critically important to the success and smooth running of any business. Data delivery methods and data loss prevention solutions are two key components of a professional and robust IT system. Now, perhaps more than ever, is a good time to set up such systems. Why? Consider that two years ago, nearly half of all businesses lost data in a cloud service (such as Dropbox and Google Drive) and were forced to restore information from backups. Worse yet, nearly two-thirds of those recovery attempts failed. Millions of data in the form of documents, charts, and programs were lost due to inadequate data delivery services that were in place.
One simple way to prevent such data loss is to back-up the data to physical drives before uploading them into a cloud system. However, that is not enough to create a viable and easy file transfer system. There are many facets that go into setting up a safe system but one very important component is encryption. Encryption is the process of translating readable data, known as “plaintext,” into illegible data, known as “ciphertext,” in order to protect the content from unwanted users. An encrypted ciphertext file is sent to various users who, in turn, decrypt the data back into plaintext to access the content. There are two main forms of encryption:
- Symmetric: Symmetric (or “private key”) encryption uses one “key” (or guide that can decrypt data) to encrypt and decrypt data. The oldest form of encryption, it is easy to use in that it only requires one key.
- Asymmetric: Asymmetric (or “public key”) encryption uses two keys: a public key that is available to any user and a private key that is only available to one. Asymmetric makes encrypted data more accessible and removes certain security problems found in symmetric encryption.
There are other things to think about when setting up an easy file transfer and data loss prevention service but the important thing is this: digital security is a leading priority in American business and many business owners are taking heed.
