In today's digital world, information security has become more critical. From individuals safeguarding their personal information to businesses protecting customer data, keeping sensitive files safe from unauthorized access is a priority across the board. This is where file encryption systems come in - an incredibly valuable but often underestimated file security technique with many hidden benefits.

What is file encryption, and how does it work?

File encryption scrambles data using cryptography (encryption algorithms), so only authorized parties can decrypt and access the information. The processed data is encrypted using encryption keys specifying how the encryption and decryption are performed. Decryption requires the correct encryption keys to unlock the data. Overall, properly implemented encryption provides robust protection against many cyber threats.

With current technology, many businesses are increasingly relying on file encryption systems to protect their sensitive information and avoid reputational damage when there is a security breach. If you want to encrypt your sensitive business files, including documents, pictures, music, voice, and video files, file encryption systems will give you the best solution to your challenge.

When sharing files with clients, it is essential to protect their sensitive information. File encryption systems, such as TeraCryption, can help reduce vulnerabilities.

TeraCryption for example offers protection without worrying about encryption key management. All you need to do is drag and drop files into group folders in Explorer to be encrypted and shared with other authorized users and clients. After a few seconds, the encrypted files will appear in their Explorer folder with the same name. Therefore, you do not have to use an encryption key management system or take time to inform the client to download or upload files.

Three major advantages

While many people are vaguely familiar with encryption for securing online transactions or communication, there needs to be more awareness around encrypting file systems, which delivers significant advantages:

• Protection against data breaches: Encrypted files are impossible to decipher without the encryption keys. If devices are lost, or cloud accounts are compromised, encryption keeps sensitive files safe even when physical or digital defenses are penetrated.
• Control over access: Encryption lets you tightly control access since only those with the correct permissions can unlock and view files. This limits internal threats from unauthorized employees or third parties gaining system access. Granular access controls can also provide access to some individuals but not others.
• Regulatory compliance: Industries like healthcare and finance with strict regulatory data protection obligations can leverage encryption to comply with security rules for customer records, medical data, financial files, etc. This applies to files at rest (stored) and in transit (being transferred).

Unlocking the Hidden Advantages

Beyond these main appeals, intelligent use of file encryption systems delivers additional advantages that are less immediately obvious:

• Information isolation: Encrypting files prevents the mixing of sensitive and non-sensitive information by automatically isolating it at the file level. This eliminates the risk of accidentally exposing sensitive file information.
• Encryption Key Management: In encryption file systems, lost encryption keys render encrypted files irrecoverable. This makes regular critical backups essential for adequately managing encrypted files. There are, however, products like TeraCryption that do not require key management since the encryption keys are automatically created and destroyed after decryption file verification. The corresponding decryption keys automatically appear only if the authorized recipient has permission to decipher that particular file. Key management is performed automatically, removing this complicated and time-consuming task from the users.
• Compliance readiness: Implementing encryption systems prevents future disruption and gaps in regulatory adherence. Being proactive with file encryption protection dramatically reduces the risk of non-compliance.
• User authentication: By controlling encryption permissions with user roles, accessing encrypted files requires user verification with credentials and two-factor authentication (2FA). This improves access controls with tighter account integration.

Putting encryption to work

Implementing the file encryption system does not require specialized expertise or costly hardware. Installing key generation hardware and encryption key management software on your servers is unnecessary. All that is needed is to install an encryption app on each user’s computer.