Encryption can be critical to data security, but it's not a universal panacea.

Encryption is the answer to every cybersecurity issue. That message seems to flow from countless articles and blog posts on the Internet — so why isn't everything, everywhere, encrypted? As it turns out, issues with encryption make some data best left unencrypted where it sits.

Now, there's no denying that encryption is an enormously valuable tool and far more data should be encrypted than is currently being protected by the technique. Especially in certain regulatory frameworks, it can seem that full encryption is a forgone conclusion as a strategy.

But encryption should be given the same level of scrutiny as any other technique before deployment. In particular, a half-dozen factors should be taken into account when an organization is considering encryption. Knee-jerk reactions seldom provide the best results, and that's as true for encryption in cybersecurity as in any other endeavor.

What has your organization decided to do about encryption? Are you encrypting everything, drawbacks aside? Or are you proceeding cautiously and encrypting in stages? Let us know in the comment section, below.

(Image: mrhighsky vis Adobe Stock)

About the Author(s)

Curtis Franklin, Principal Analyst, Omdia

Curtis Franklin Jr. is Principal Analyst at Omdia, focusing on enterprise security management. Previously, he was senior editor of Dark Reading, editor of Light Reading's Security Now, and executive editor, technology, at InformationWeek, where he was also executive producer of InformationWeek's online radio and podcast episodes

Curtis has been writing about technologies and products in computing and networking since the early 1980s. He has been on staff and contributed to technology-industry publications including BYTE, ComputerWorld, CEO, Enterprise Efficiency, ChannelWeb, Network Computing, InfoWorld, PCWorld, Dark Reading, and ITWorld.com on subjects ranging from mobile enterprise computing to enterprise security and wireless networking.

Curtis is the author of thousands of articles, the co-author of five books, and has been a frequent speaker at computer and networking industry conferences across North America and Europe. His most recent books, Cloud Computing: Technologies and Strategies of the Ubiquitous Data Center, and Securing the Cloud: Security Strategies for the Ubiquitous Data Center, with co-author Brian Chee, are published by Taylor and Francis.

When he's not writing, Curtis is a painter, photographer, cook, and multi-instrumentalist musician. He is active in running, amateur radio (KG4GWA), the MakerFX maker space in Orlando, FL, and is a certified Florida Master Naturalist.

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