FIVE ADVANTAGES OF DATA IN USE ENCRYPTION FOR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII)

1. Protect PII data anywhere, all the time

No matter how your data is structured or stored, PII can remain encrypted and controlled even when in use with modern data encryption technology. Traditional data encryption solutions keep data protected while it is at rest or in motion. However, they leave data vulnerable while it is in use – as soon as data is in use, it automatically becomes decrypted, leaving sensitive elements in plain text. Modern data encryption technology protects sensitive data at all times, keeping data encrypted while it is in use, at rest, or in motion.

2. Detect threats

Encryption to protect data should also incorporate anomaly detection at the data level. Many anomaly detection solutions do not function in real-time. Instead, they take a reactive approach to data security that allows for forensic discovery post-breach. Encryption technology that is combined with machine learning (ML) to proactively protect PII data by detecting and blocking threats in real-time, can now stop attacks before a breach occurs.

3. Control the cloud

How can organizations ensure that sensitive PII data is protected from insider threats? Legacy encryption solutions do not protect data stored in the cloud from cloud administrators who have access to the encryption keys. It’s imperative for organizations to keep PII out of the hands of administrators, even in a cloud environment where your cloud provider has privileged access because he/she has access to the encryption keys. Fortunately, encryption technology has come a long way, allowing you and only you to own the encryption keys, where you can finally protect data stored in the cloud with complete confidence.

4. Standardize with a data-first approach to security

Traditionally, security teams have been trained to approach their security framework from a network-level perspective. But at the network level, security tends to be very noisy and wrought with signals. An attacker that has penetrated the network level often goes unnoticed until it is too late. Protecting sensitive data is no easy feat. Why not apply the same security practices and governance, but with a data-first approach? With remote work being the new norm, it is critical we start thinking about how we secure information itself. By starting with protecting your organization’s most sensitive data at the core, you avoid the noise at the network level – in short, data must become the new perimeter.

5. Simple, effective encryption

Many existing data encryption solutions have received a bad rep for their difficulty of implementation and high performance tax. Attempting to protect multiple datastores as well as applications has become a painful, lengthy process of application changes. Even worse, managing a fragmented security stack only causes more resource constraints. Fear not, next-gen encryption technology allows your organization to rapidly onboard new datastores and applications to protect sensitive PII data immediately – without long and complicated configurations. You don’t even need to make application changes. Sound too good to be true? Contact us to learn how you can save unnecessary cycles – confidently protect your PII data starting today!

“originally published on www.soterosoft.com”