Encryption Explained: Why it matters for everyday internet users

Our methods of protecting information delivery and verifying a sender’s identity have truly evolved from wax sealed documents and registered post with our digital age. Encryption has become a necessity now, since each of us share vast amounts of personal information and transact online every day. 

Data is the new gold and encryption is the vault that keeps this personal asset safe. Let’s examine why encryption matters to every internet user, not just tech enthusiasts.

What is Encryption? A simple explanation

Encryption is a shield for our digital information while it’s on a device and as it travels across the internet. It keeps texts, emails, and messages confidential and ensures financial details and personal information are protected from cybercriminals. 

Encryption does a few important things:

1. It keeps your data private 
2. It prevents unauthorised changes
3. It verifies the sender’s identity
4. It proves the origin and integrity of data
5. It safeguards information both on devices and during transmission.

It involves a process that scrambles plain text data into an unreadable format called ciphertext through the use of algorithms, which prevent it being stolen, changed, or compromised. Only those with the correct ‘key’ can unscramble and read the original information. The key is a unique piece of information, often a long string of random characters held by the receiver’s platform (website, app, message or service) that transforms the ciphertext back into plaintext. Strong encryption uses a complex key that is extremely difficult to guess or crack. 

Encryption’s role in Data Integrity

In addition to preventing unauthorised parties from reading your data if they do manage to access it, encryption detects if someone has tampered with the information during transmission. 

It adds a special tag unique to your exact message or transaction. When the email or transfer arrives, the recipient’s computer checks this tag to see if it matches perfectly with the senders. Just like a broken wax seal on the envelope, if the tag doesn’t match, the system knows the message has been intercepted. 

This process happens automatically when you use secure websites or apps. You don’t need to do anything special.

Is this website secure?

The easiest way to determine if a website is using encryption is to look for a padlock icon within the URL in the browser’s address bar. Click the padlock and you can view the site’s security certificate information, including the issuer and expiration date.   

With the URL, HTTP indicates a standard, unencrypted connection whereas with HTTPS: The “S” stands for “Secure.” (encrypted). HTTPS doesn’t guarantee complete security and we need to be using other security practices, such as two-factor authentication for logins, password managers, the Sapher browser extension (which guards against fake sites and malicious links) and keeping antivirus software up-to-date.

Related articles: Public Wi-Fi Risks And How To Protect Yourself

End-to-end Encrypted Messaging

When you use a messaging app with end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram or Facebook Messenger, your messages are scrambled and only the message receiver’s device has the key to unlock it. It’s important to understand that this protection doesn’t extend to all data and these service’s privacy policies are regularly updated and as users we should review the latest version to understand exactly what data is collected and how it’s used.

The bottom line on Encryption

As we continue to share more of our lives online and connect virtually, understanding the basics of encryption helps us better understand how things work in the digital and cybersecurity world.

As technology evolves, so too will the methods we use to keep our data secure. While no system is perfect, encryption is a pillar of internet safety, providing another protective layer for users worldwide.