Human history is full of examples of encryption playing pivotal roles in war, competition and transitions of power. Throughout recorded time, people have employed encryption as a tactical tool to keep information private. That data could involve military campaigns, plots to overthrow political leaders or political dealings. In some cases, the use of encryption actually resulted in a false sense of security, because the encryption method itself was not secure enough.
With the advent of encryption, history set itself on a new course. The confidentiality, integrity and availability of information (or lack thereof) changed the outcome of events. In hindsight, the basic tools of data protection influenced people long before the invention of modern computing.
Encryption Basics
In today’s world, unlike the bulk of human history, information crosses the planet in real-time. When we make decisions based on that information, it is key that information is not only available when we need it, but is reliable and, often, confidential.
Encryption offers three pillars of value: confidentiality, reliability and control. These map nicely to the information security triad of confidentiality, integrity and availability.
Confidentiality
We all know that encrypting data makes the data confidential and hides it from the prying eyes of thieves, eavesdroppers and other threat actors. For a historical example, look at the highly classified plans of the Enola Gay bomber to drop the first atomic bomb. These plans were only communicated by way of encrypted channels. If they had been discovered by the Japanese military or their allies, the outcome of World War II could have been much different.
Integrity and Reliability Through Encryption
The other pillars provide just as much value and h ..
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