Cloud security and web application security demand technology and practices that protect applications and data hosted remotely. Good old-fashioned data encryption is chief among these. The reasons for encrypting cloud data, of course, are privacy, security and regulatory compliance — all standard for any successful enterprise. At the bottom of all this is the idea of being intentional about encryption, knowing the standards you need to meet and the specifics of your group’s needs. Make sure you’re seeing the whole picture with our guide.
Encryption basics are, well, basic. The process scrambles data, transforming it into a cyphertext until someone applies keys, turning it back into readable or usable data. But that’s the simplest step.
Encrypting sensitive cloud data is like safeguarding cash at a bank. You want to control who has access to the vault, and also control who has access to the code that opens the vault. Properly encrypted data in the cloud can be even more secure than keeping it locally.
Regulations Demand Strong Encryption
Specific regulations protect different kinds of data, depending on whether it’s medical, financial or consumer data. The first step on your compliance journey is to know which regulations cover what data. From there, you can learn how to encrypt and manage that data.
Compliance rules can guide encryption in several ways. For example, data may need to be fully or only partially invisible to, say, customers or specific groups of employees. Part of a credit card number or social security number may need to be visible depending on who is looking the number up.
