How To Keep Your Sensitive Data Safe With Endpoint Encryption

Endpoint encryption is a vital part of your company's security. We all know not to keep our PIN number with our bank card to protect our financial information and protect our possessions with a house key that only opens our front door but do we always do everything possible to protect equally sensitive information on our company's IT network?

Nowadays, many businesses hold personal or sensitive information about their clients or need to protect confidential data relating to the company itself. That, coupled with the increasing use of portable devices such as tablets, laptops and smart-phones for easier working makes the scenario of dashing off a busy train and leaving your lap-top behind full of clients' personal details all the more of a possibility. Media reporting of high-profile data breaches and losses has led to increased awareness and mistrust amongst the public with regards to how safe their personal data may be. For a company to be able to demonstrate it employs the highest level of protection to maintain the safety of such information is, these days, an integral part of building a trusting, satisfied client relationship.

As if this wasn't enough, protecting a company network against cyber-attack has become increasingly complex and installing measures such as a fire-wall on its own is no longer enough to battle against the many such threats that exist today.

Endpoint encryption forms part of the concept of endpoint protection where each device on a network is protected and has to comply with certain standards before access is allowed. Information on any of your endpoint devices (eg. PC, tablet, smart-phone) is converted into unreadable cipher which is useless to any unauthorised user.

Various software and hardware packages are available for endpoint encryption and all rely on the use of an encryption algorithm to convert information. Differing amounts of the device hard-disk can be encrypted and in many cases the entire disk is encrypted. A common algorithm is Rijndael and others include Serpent, Twofish and MARS. The choice of algorithm is affected by such factors as speed and security of encryption. Once encrypted the disk normally has a two-stage authentication process once an authorised user gains access. In the first stage the endpoint device is booted up and then a second stage of authentication with the user logging on with a password allows documents to be opened and the operating system to function. During use requested files are dynamically transferred between the device and an encrypted drive.