eperi dispels four myths about data encryption

The need to protect data for legal and compliance reasons is an accepted fact in the business world. Data protection experts and corporate strategists are aware that this necessity is becoming even more important, not only in international business, but also due to distributed working environments and the rapidly increasing use of the Cloud in all areas of business. The most effective technology to counter compliance requirements and cyber risks is the encryption of all sensitive data leaving the company for the Cloud. However, data encryption still has to contend with old prejudices from the past - from times when this technology was still far removed from today's developments and technical possibilities.

“It's amazing how long prejudices can persist, even though they have long since ceased to correspond to the facts. This is reminiscent of vehicle brands that are still said today to require you to buy two vehicles - one for driving and the other for the workshop. This is despite the fact that these vehicles are now at least as reliable as those of other brands and in some cases even innovation leaders,” says Andreas Steffen, CEO of eperi. “Such prejudices are nonsense. After all, data encryption has long outgrown the problems of the past and is now the only effective means of reliably protecting data.”

The four most common myths about data encryption

1. Data encryption slows down access to data
   It is wrong that data encryption and additional security come at the expense of speed (performance). Modern encryption technologies are optimized to enable efficient and fast access to data. Advances in hardware and software technology have meant that the impact of data encryption on performance is no longer an issue. Modern computers and cloud platforms are able to process encrypted data efficiently, and users notice no difference in speed.
2. Data encryption makes collaboration more difficult
   Old encryption solutions had this problem. What one employee encrypted, the other could not read or process. But that was a long time ago. Modern solutions allow for seamless collaboration and cooperation within companies without putting data at risk. Advanced and platform-based encryption technology makes it possible to protect data without compromising user-friendliness or efficiency.
3. Data encryption restricts application functionality and reduces productivity and efficiency
   In the past, it was often the case that encrypted data impaired the functionality of applications, especially in the cloud. So what good is data encryption if it means you can no longer process the data in the applications properly? Losses in functionality and efficiency were inevitable. However, today's technologies solve this problem: function-preserving measures not only guarantee important functions such as searching or sorting, but also the full processing of data in encrypted form, for example in Hubspot, Salesforce, ServiceNow or Microsoft 365 applications. This guarantees the smooth running of work processes with securely encrypted data in the cloud and also for SaaS environments.
4. Data encryption is only for large companies
   When it comes to data protection and the global threat situation, it doesn't matter how big the company is whose data needs to be protected. Whether large corporations or medium-sized organizations, they all have data and information that is worth protecting for legal reasons or for strategic business considerations. Cyber criminals or industrial spies don't care which company they steal the data from. The main thing is that it is valuable and can be turned into money. Data encryption is a security practice that is instrumental in protecting data from various threats, regardless of the size of the organization. Data encryption with a gateway technology can be integrated into any environment - seamlessly, scalably and, most importantly, with a level of investment that even medium-sized and smaller organizations can afford.