Secure Your Online Privacy With Top-Notch Encryption

Secure Your Online Privacy With Top-Notch Encryption

Even with so many new developments and technological advances, one thing that has not changed that information is your most valuable asset. You collect information and use it in every area of your business, and you need it to make decisions at every level of service.

Major Data Breaches

When a major company has a data breach, there is widespread alarm and the news is shared immediately. Most people feel a sense of panic when they see these large breaches because most of the companies that make the news clearly had enough resources to use the best technology to keep these kinds of events from happening.

Some of the biggest data breaches in the last century happened at businesses almost everyone has visited at one time or another. The Yahoo breaches in 2013 and 2014 affected 3 billion user accounts, compromising the real names, addresses, dates of birth, and telephone numbers of over 500 million users in one breach and compromising security information and passwords of a billion users in a different breach. The breaches significantly affected Yahoo's value, knocking $350 million off its sales price.

Other breaches were devastating on a different level. The Marriott International breach affected 500 million customers. Many of them were only identified by cursory information, but the breach also gave away passport and travel information for many. The eBay breach in 2014 compromised the information of 145 million users, and the hackers had access to the system for 229 days. Luckily, the credit card information was stored in a different location. Equifax might be one of the worst breaches because the company collects all the important information about someone's credit history, including residence, credit cards, and loans. 143 million people were affected in that breach.

It is clear that all individuals and businesses need to find security they can trust. One solution is to use a fast Australia VPN, so your data is sent where you want without any information about you attached. By using a VPN, you can keep people from seeing where and who you are. Naomi Hodges is a cybersecurity advisor who works to make the internet safer, and she stays on top of the latest advances in technology so that she can advise individuals who read her column at Surfshark about steps they can take to protect their information.

Upcoming Encryption Capabilities

It seems that as fast as you find a way to keep your data safe, the bad guys find a way to break in and steal your information. Fortunately, there are many new advances and possibilities that will make data theft and disruption even more difficult. Here are just a handful of the new encryption technologies:

• With homomorphic encryption, encryption is done on ciphertext, and calculations can be done on the encrypted data without decrypting it first. Both data and computation can be kept secure, even while manipulating the data. This encryption protocol is so secure that NASA has used it to quickly deliver large amounts of highly secure information. One of the big advantages of homomorphic encryption is that it can make cloud computing safer.
• Biometric encryption is a next logical step because it uses biometric identifiers like fingerprints, voices, and faces to secure data. One of the biggest advantages is that using biometric encryption will eliminate the need to remember passwords for every log in and application. Banks could even use this to recognize a customer's voice calling on the phone for account information.
• Wearable two-factor authentication adds an extra level of security by requiring two levels of proof of identity. The user has some sort of wearable technology, such as a watch or fob, and then must also provide a password. One example you probably already use is with your bank, when you can use your bank card and provide a PIN in order to do transactions.
• Widespread end-to-end encryption secures the data from everyone except the owner. When you realize that you can't really trust any platform completely, widespread end-to-end encryption seems like the next logical step in security. Once you are using this kind of encryption, you no longer need to worry so much about the platform itself, because even if your data is accessed, it will be worthless to anyone who tries to use it or sell it.
• Search engines with free VPNs allow you to browse the internet anonymously. Your VPN is the key to your location and identity, so you can hide your information from unwanted users by using a VPN through another source. Of course, that source must also be secure.

Staying On Top

It may seem impossible to stay ahead of people who are constantly working to break through your defenses. It seems that if these hackers used their powers for good, they would be able to accomplish just as much if not more. You will need to be vigilant with your data, not just for your own sake but for any customers you have.

There are more and more advances in encryption that work to make your data safe. By encrypting your data and using a VPN, you can hide your identity and location and keep prying eyes from being able to understand your information. You just have to stay a step ahead.

Photo by Joseph Gruenthal on Unsplash