Data In-Transit
By now, everyone involved in the world of cybersecurity understands the importance of sending and receiving data in a secure manner. Cybersecurity professionals will tell you that whenever you release files and they travel across systems over which you have no control, you must take certain steps to ensure the data is secure. For example, the file can be encrypted and digitally signed using advanced algorithms before being sent. Additionally, you can transmit the files across a secure channel using communication protocols such as AS2, SFTP FTPS, etc. This ensures that in the very rare situation that files would be intercepted, they are unreadable and therefore useless to the intercepting party. This process is often referred to as securing data “in-transit.”
Data At-Rest
Data “at-rest,” as the term implies, is data which is stored on a drive not currently in use or being transmitted. Due to its very nature, this is generally a relatively secure state. The storage device is buried in a machine housed internally behind multiple layers of security, network devices, etc. However, the data itself is still in a legible and accessible state from the other machines also behind these layers of cybersecurity. Additionally, these machines are still connected to the internet in some method and thereby potentially accessible by cyber thieves.
Today, the majority of data breaches are initiated by internal machines once thought to be highly secured. For example, a user unknowingly obtains a piece
of malware from a website, opens an infected email attachment, or even knowingly accesses the data with malicious intent. These types of events happen many times a day, across organizations of all sizes, and located all around the world. Securing your data while at rest can make it useless to such a would-be threat.
Securing data at-rest (at least from a high level) seems like it can be done easily enough. You can encrypt the data using strong algorithms such as AES or RSA using various methods. The data can be encrypted through software or applications, and even via hardware itself. However, what happens when you need to access the data? How do you integrate these encryption methods with your third party applications and communication tools? This is where the idea of securing your data which has been or will be transmitted externally can become a daunting task….or does it?
Luckily, a solution does exist. You could deploy a managed file transfer solution which has a secure and encrypted datastore, such as bTrade’s TDXchange software. In fact, for many years bTrade’s cybersecurity experts have offered the ability to secure the data at-rest with the simple click of a box in the user interface. We can automatically encrypt all files sent and received over all aspects and areas of processing with virtually no impact to the user.
bTrade Can Help
It’s no longer enough to only secure your data while only in use or transit. To learn how bTrade can help you secure ALL aspects of your critical data, please contact us at info@btrade.com.
Also, you can stay current on developments in the world of cybersecurity by following bTrade on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.