Encrypted Communication Popular in our Day

Image courtesy of brewbooks at Flickr.com

After the major cases of data leakage and hacking of information, more and more individuals, companies, and government entities are looking for solutions to protect their privacy and their deepest secrets. 

The truth is that encrypted communication has always been present. The romans, for example, used encrypted messages to protect information that dealt with military content and to communicate during battles. Caesar was the one to be acknowledged as the first user of this system. That encrypted method was called “Caesar cipher” and it consisted of a strategy where each letter in a message was replaced by another letter, which was changed some places forward in the alphabet. However, it is believed that before him encrypted communication by substitution had already been used.

Before, encryption was mainly exclusive for departments and people in charge of the defense of a nation. Nowadays, companies and individuals want to know more about this technology and start implementing it in their daily communicative exchanges.

Why is it important?

Any communication that takes place in the internet is unencrypted. This means that if there is a malicious user that wants to “spy” the communication between the sender of a message and its recipient, this user is able to access information from this communication, and know exactly what is being transmitted. This fact can have more relevance according to the level of exclusiveness or secrecy of the information. If we were checking out web pages about the latest hairstyles, that would be irrelevant to security. But if we were accessing or providing our bank account information, that is a different story. 

Image courtesy of EFF Photos at Flickr.com

To avoid these sorts of situations, there is a technical solution that protects communication through encryption. Any kind of information can be encrypted. From web pages access information, to e-mails, etc. Encrypting information nowadays is an area of expertise that protects information using mathematics, computer science and engineering approaches.

The benefits of encrypted communication should be used specially in those interactions that transmit sensitive data. These might include passwords, personal information, financial records, etc. Security in this context means to perform communication in ways that does not allow a third party to access, read or listen to the communication session. The ways to protect internet communication can take the following forms:

• Protecting the content: hiding information or digital data.
• Protecting individuals performing communication: anonymity
• Protecting the communication environment: approaches to hide communication environment. 

The Case of WhatsApp

Recently, Whatsapp proved people its concern about protecting its users’ privacy. Its latest update informed the community about the implementation of a new technology where users can talk to friends, family and acquaintances and their communication will be encrypted. This unprecedented action stirred a desire in people to understand more about encryption and to be concerned more about their online privacy.

This newfound concern about online privacy on the web is valid for companies as well. There are many tools and encrypted technology systems for companies that allow organizations to take control over sensitive data, information access and communications policies.

Whatsapp case poses a question, if encryption should be applied to all communications. The truth of the matter is that it entirely depends on the nature of the information that is handled. Companies should identify their key issues and sensitive data that need to be protected and differentiated from trivial, harmless communication. Identification is key to developing policies and strategies for managing data. After the implementation of a communication action plan, raising awareness is crucial for educating personnel about the importance of handling information in a safe way, following the company policies.

Final Considerations

Encryption mechanisms have always existed and will continue existing, whether it is for companies, government agencies or individuals that want to protect valuable information. Recent cases of information leakage have raised awareness of the need for information privacy and protection both in public and private communications. Security in this sense means protecting information or digital data from any sort of attacking techniques, technologies or methods controlled by malicious users.

To sum up, advances in cryptography are offering strong enough protection for most of our e-mail communications, online transactions and valuable information, but the future is still uncertain in the changing face of technology because, when stronger cryptographic systems appear, new means to break them appear as well. The hope is that with the ongoing developments in this area, attacks and security breaking will be exponentially reduced if not eradicated. That is why more research and work needs to take place to take security measures one step further from malicious users and technologies against online privacy. The human factor is still critical in the effectiveness of all security applications and systems. The constant reinvention of online communications privacy still continues.