Data security (Essay Sample)

Data Security
Student Name
Institution

Data Security
The technological advancements in the information technology (IT) have raised concerns about the security of the organizations’ data. Some of these major concerns are associated with the weak information system security and include compromised network services, malware, vulnerability to viruses, and the attacks by hackers (American Bar Association, 2008). Business entities must safeguard their data at whatever cost to avoid unauthorized access by intruders. Any business that operates on the frontiers of technology should ensure that it stays ahead of the ever-evolving risks and threats of data breaches. It requires diligence and the integration of security parameters to avoid the compromise of sensitive data.
Cryptography is a security mechanism that protects the highly valued information systems, data, information, and applications from malicious attacks (Oriyano, 2013). The primary goals of cryptography include the following:
Confidentiality: it ensures that a particular content of information is accessed and viewed only by an authorized person.
Data integrity: cryptography ensures that the available information is kept intact, and that it is not altered by unauthorized persons.
Authentication: this service relates to the verification process of a particular user of the system. Any user trying to access particular information should be identified to ascertain that he or she is allowed to access data or use a communication channel.
Non-repudiation: this service prevents a person from denying his or her responsibility in committing an action related to the altering a company’s data.
There are two types of cryptography used to encrypt data over a communication channel. These are asymmetric and symmetric cryptography. Symmetric cryptography utilizes only one key, commonly known as a private key, for the purpose of encrypting and decrypting data. The message sender and the receiver are the only individuals authorized to access the private key. On the other hand, the asymmetric cryptography technique has two different keys used to encrypt and decrypt the information. The key used for the encryption of data is called a public key, while the one used to decipher data is called a private key. In the asymmetric system, both the sender and the receiver of the information have the two keys. Sometimes, the symmetric key cryptography data security measure might not be the best solution for a company that needs to secure the highly valued data. This is because a sender is required to pass the key to the receiver during the process of data transmission. Hackers might intercept the key in a case where the transmission channel is insecure. Hackers are able to decrypt the information before it reaches the intended receiver.
Asymmetric public key cryptography method is highly recommended for companies that want to safeguard the valuable data and information (Buchmann, & Manulis, 2012). Firstly, there is no need for exchanging keys through a communication channel, thus eliminating the risks associated with key distribution. The basic advantage of asymmetric key is the increased security. The public key is never revealed to anyone but, only to the sender. Furthermore, this type of encryption provides repudiated digital signatures. The digital signatures are used for the purpose of authenticating an entity. The main setback of asymmetric keys cryptography is that it is slow. Information takes long to be transmitted through a...