Digital communications happen all the time. Whether you’re sending an email, using a mobile app or simply browsing a website, you’ll be communicating with another device using data. Unfortunately, digital communications such as this are often a target for hackers. The line between your device and the device to which it’s connected could become compromised, resulting in your data being exposed. You can lock down your digital communications, however, by using end-to-end encryption.
What Is End-to-End Encryption?
End-to-end encryption is a cybersecurity concept that involves the encryption of all data sent between two endpoints. For a digital communication to occur, there must be a sender and a receiver. The sender is the device that sends data, whereas the receiver is the device that receives or accepts this data. The devices, of course, are considered endpoints. With end-to-end encryption, all data transferred between the two devices is encrypted.
How End-to-End Encryption Works
You might be wondering how end-to-end encryption works. Although there are technologies for it, most forms of end-to-end encryption require a pair of cryptographic keys. They use a public cryptographic key and a private cryptographic key. Known as asymmetric cryptography, one of the keys is used to encrypt the data, whereas the other key is given to the receiver so that it can decrypt the data.
A common example of end-to-end encryption is Hypertext Markup Language Secure (HTTPS). It’s a protocol that applies an encryption algorithm to data in digital communications that involve two endpoints. If you visit a website that uses the HTTPS protocol, you can rest assured knowing that end-to-end encryption is in place. Websites that use an alternative protocol, on the other hand, don’t offer end-to-end encryption. The data that you send and receive from them won’t be encrypted.
Benefits of End-to-End Encryption
Digital communications are often hacked, which can result in your data being exposed. Whether you’re sending data or receiving data, there’s a risk of your digital communication being hacked, in which case an unauthorized user could retrieve your data. End-to-end encryption will protect your data by applying an encryption algorithm to it.
As its name suggests, end-to-end encryption will encrypt all of the data between two endpoints. Endpoints are devices. They can include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, smart printers and other internet-connected devices. Using end-to-end encryption means that all of the data transferred between two devices will be encrypted. And only the receiver will have the cryptographic key needed to decipher the data.
#endtoend #encryption