What is encryption and why is it important?
Encryption is the process of applying a substitution code to all your data. Without the key, the data will be useless gibberish to a thief. Encryption programs are widely available, but most users dont bother with them. In 2003, laptop theft cost U.S. companies about $6.8 million, and that doesnt include the value of the data that was lost. A stolen laptop could contribute to theft of corporate secrets, identity and property, covert government information, and much more. Whether you are protecting corporate information, or your familys password filesencryption programs are a worthwhile investment for your laptop.
Encryption scrambles information passing over the Internet and provides an additional component of security highly important for Internet banking and any other secure transactions you make on the Internet. Encryption is like having a combination lock and only one combination will work. To ensure you are in a secure page, you should always see a closed lock at the bottom of your screen. If the lock is ever open or broken your security session has been interrupted. Browsers provide different levels of encryption: Standard-40 or 50 bit, and High-128-bit. Roughly speaking, 128-bit encryption is 309,485,009,821,345,068,724,781,056 times stronger than 40-bit encryption. Fullerton Community Bank requires the highest level of encryption, the 128-bit.
Encryption is basically a mathematical formula that scrambles a data file. And the only way to unscramble it is with the encryption code. Why is it necessary? Tape backups performed by users are typically not encrypted. Therefore, anyone who has access to your backup tapes can potentially read your important data, such as your client database, accounting and payroll records and other proprietary information. Northwest Technical’s Remote Online Backup system encrypts its backups to ensure complete security and privacy. No one–not even Northwest Technical–can read your data. It’s that secure.
