Use of encryption in enterprises is at all time high
The use of encryption in global organizations is now at an all-time high, with 41 percent using it extensively today -- a seven percent rise over last year.
This is among the findings of a Global Encryption report from Thales e-Security and the Ponemon Institute which shows that businesses are taking action to guard their sensitive data.
Database encryption has risen from 42 percent to 61 percent in the past year among companies with a mature encryption strategy in place. Following Heartbleed and other SSL vulnerabilities, internet communications (SSL/TLS) have also seen a huge increase in the use of encryption, increasing from 37 percent to 58 percent.
Whilst organizations are increasingly putting their trust in the cloud, some businesses are realizing that for certain applications control of the encryption process and associated keys need to be kept within the organization.
Financial services, healthcare and pharmaceutical, along with technology and software companies are using encryption the most -- an indication of the influence of regulatory demands, privacy concerns, and the need to protect against data breaches.
But while the news is generally good, use of encryption in business applications decreased from nearly half (46 percent) last year to just 18 percent within organizations that deploy an 'ad hoc' encryption strategy. The report's authors note that one of the lessons of last year's TalkTalk hack is that focusing on cybersecurity within business applications themselves has to be just as much a priority as securing databases.
"Cyber security has never been more on the agenda than it is today", says John Grimm, senior director security strategy at Thales e-Security. "With data breaches being reported almost daily, businesses must do everything they can to ensure their most valuable data is secure from hackers and their reputation remains intact. Encryption, properly implemented and with sound key protection, is fast becoming a widely accepted solution to do this, and it is encouraging to see businesses making waves in securing their data. But with nearly half of global businesses still without a mature encryption strategy in place, there is still plenty more to be done".
You can read more about the findings in the full report which is available to download from the Thales website.
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