Role of File Encryption in Data Security

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In an era where data breaches and cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, the importance of data security cannot be overstated. When properly implemented, robust data security strategies protect an organization’s information from bad actors, insider threats, and human errors.

Data encryption is usually considered the last line of defense, and data security teams have different options—from storage encryption, database encryption, data tokenization to filesystem encryption. The latter one tends to be the most underrated method, mostly because it adds the overhead of agent installation and management.

Yet, in certain scenarios, it can be a very powerful solution. To effectively protect data, it's important to understand the differences between the various encryption methods available and know when to use each.

Storage Encryption

Full disk encryption is a data security method for protecting sensitive data at the hardware level by encrypting all the data at once. In the event the device is lost, stolen, or hacked, all data is protected and cannot be accessed. This is the most basic and fundamental way of securing data at-rest and is used to encrypt entire hard drives or storage volumes.

Transparent Database Encryption (TDE)

Transparent Database Encryption (TDE) is a method used to encrypt databases at the file level. It is designed to be transparent to applications, meaning it encrypts and decrypts data automatically as it is read from or written to the database.

TDE is used to encrypt customer information in an SQL database or to secure financial records stored in an ERP system. TDE is used when encrypting entire databases without needing to modify applications or to protect data in databases from unauthorized access.

Data Tokenization

Data tokenization involves replacing sensitive data with unique identification symbols (tokens) that retain essential information without compromising security. Data tokenization, for example, can be used to replace credit card numbers with tokens in a payment processing system or personal identifiers in healthcare records.

Unlike encryption, tokenization does not alter the data itself but replaces it with dummy value. In the case of data tokenization by Format Preserving Encryption, the dataset remains in the same format, thus making it usable in cloud analytics like Snowflake and Databricks, yet data remains private and compliant. It is recommended to use data tokenization to mask PII data, when stored, transmitted, or used across applications and workflows.

Filesystem Encryption

Filesystem encryption encrypts individual files or entire file systems on a given storage device. With granular data decryption controls, Filesystem Encryption ensures that the right people, with proper role-based access permissions, can view individual files or folders.

Filesystem encryption also allows for separation of duties between IT administrators and line of business workers. It is best used for encrypting sensitive documents on shared or external environments, when multiple users access the same system. Filesystems is arguably the best data security method against internal malicious actors.

Encrypting individual files and folders on a given file system requires agents. The deployment, management, and update of such agents can be a real hassle, along with the management of the encryption keys, required for each individual asset.

This is why many folks opt not to use this data encryption method, but for the many industries, bound by strict regulations that require filesystem encryption, it is often a key component in meeting legal requirements.

How Fortanix Helps Securing Your Data

At Fortanix, we prioritize data security and have built our data security platform on Confidential Computing to protect data even while in-use. We support all abovementioned data encryption methods, to give customers options that depend on their specific use case and the type of data being protected.

We also believe in simplicity and efficient security operations. Our Enterprise Key Management offers granular encryption policy management from a single pane of glass for hybrid multicloud workloads.

The scalable SaaS deployment provides efficiency and flexibility as your business grows. In essences, Fortanix eliminates encryption keys sprawl and centralizes the operations to eliminate key management headaches.

When it comes to Filesystem Encryption, Fortanix simplifies the management and update of the agents. Unlike other vendors, Fortanix agents do not have kernels decencies, therefore they can be easily deployed and maintained across diverse Windows, Linux, and Unix environments.

Conclusion

Choosing the right data encryption method depends on the specific use case and the type of data being protected. By understanding the differences between filesystem encryption, storage disk, transparent database encryption, and data tokenization, and knowing when to use each method, data encryption teams can effectively safeguard sensitive information, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and maintain the integrity and trust that your organization and its stakeholders depend on.