This week, one of Flagler Technologies' consulting system engineers, Tim Betz, sat down with us to discuss remote work transitions, ransomware protection and prevention, and the importance of data encryption on devices.
Through the years, Tim has acquired a number of CCIE certifications, including route/switch, service provider, and data center. His expertise has been amplified by working at large events such as the Republican National Convention, Superbowl 2020 in Miami, and USGA’s Gulf Event.
Think You Know Data Encryption?
What exactly is data encryption? Well, data encryption is the process of taking plain text, for example, a text or email, and scrambling it into an unreadable format that is known as cipher-text.
Why Is Data Encryption Important?
The reason data encryption is so important is because it helps protect the confidentiality of digital data that has been either stored on computer systems or transmitted through a network such as the internet.
Ransomware Protection
Ransomware can cause major issues for organizations. While you might think that your organization is safe, you may want to take a second look. Recently, Flagler worked with an organization who succumbed to ransomware. In order to address the issue, Flagler had to reimage desktops and discovered that the organization had a lot of the correct tools in place, they just were not properly configured. Due to improper implementation, an attack occurred that could’ve easily been prevented. Data security services have become an even greater need over recent years.
Remote Work Transitions
Temporary remote workers are now becoming permanent remote workers. During this transition, it is important that organizations know what technology tools their teams need to be successful.
At the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of companies used toolsets already in place or scrambled to get tools to use. The issue with this is that some toolsets may not meet security standards. When transitioning from temporary to permanent, organizations may need to revisit the tools they are using to ensure that they conform to their security policy standards – specifically around encryption. That is where remote worker security solutions come into play.
End-to-End Encryption
Encryption is significant for companies; if an organization’s trade secrets or operational procedures fall into the wrong hands, it could be chaos. End-to-end encryption ensures that, when transmitting data via email, teleconference or other medium, the recipient is the only person who can view the communication. When you send or receive data, you go through several hops, and anyone on these hops can view or try to view the information. Encryption ensures that whoever is attempting to view the information, fails.
While it may seem as if encryption is something only specific organizations such as law offices, hospitals and fortune 500 companies should have, this is not the case. It is important for everyone to encrypt their devices for the security of their own personal information. Without encryption, something as simple as a FaceTime to Mom can be a security threat.
Do you have any questions? Let us know what you want to hear about next by contacting Flagler Technologies today!