In the financial industry, the use of this resource becomes more relevant to protect the IT security of your business and, at the same time, ensure that the data, the most valuable asset of your company, remains unbreakable when making transactions in payment environments.
The function of a cryptographic method in your business goes far beyond a single factor, it must take into account whether the data to be protected is at rest or in motion; what interactions this information must comply with; under what means it is transmitted; under what conditions it can be accessed and to whom this access is allowed, among others.
These and other factors determine, to a large extent, the types of cryptography or encryption methods used today, as well as the encryption algorithms used by them, which, although they have the same objective of data protection, work in different ways and, therefore, have different benefits and limitations.
Types of cryptography
Symmetric encryption
Also known as private key encryption, in this cryptographic or encryption method a single key or key is responsible for encrypting and decrypting the information. Its use is simple: this key is shared by sender and receiver, which implies certain advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages of symmetric encryption are related to the ease of the process: it consumes fewer resources, its performance is higher and, therefore, it is faster than other types of cryptography; however, the sharing of a single key means that, by sharing this information, it can be more easily breached. In addition, it is an older method that is only recommended for use in environments where data is at rest or systems are completely airtight.
Asymmetric encryption
On the other hand, asymmetric encryption was born precisely from the need to cover the disadvantages of symmetric encryption through two keys. The public key is used to encrypt the information while the private key is used for decryption, the latter is only held by the person who will be responsible for decrypting the message or sensitive data, so the method helps to avoid increasing the vulnerability of this operation.
It should be noted that these two keys are linked together under a numerical standard, but they are not the same, hence the name of the method. Its advantages are clear: by not sharing the same key for the entire process, its security is more advanced than symmetric encryption; however, its high level implies more resource consumption and, therefore, slower processing, which is why it is usually used in more complex transaction and user authentication processes.
Through which procedures do these methods work?
Having total clarity of the two most used methods nowadays, it is also necessary to take into account through which encryption algorithms each of them is managed.
Symmetric encryption works under algorithms such as:
- AES: the most widely used today as it has speed and a variable key length that implies greater security and can help in handling large amounts of data.
- DES/3DES: predecessors of AES that through international regulations have begun to fall into obsolescence, but are still used in specific cases such as ATM encryption.
Asymmetric encryption works under algorithms such as:
- RSA: using two keys, its main attraction is in the length of the keys which helps secure transmission of information in environments such as emails and browsers running over the Internet.
- ECC: considered to be the most powerful algorithm available today, it allows keys to be less extensive without sacrificing encryption security. This, combined with its low cost, makes it the preferred choice for transactions and operations over the Internet.
Cryptography is an infinite field of knowledge that is constantly being updated and the protection of information advances daily with new methods and algorithms, but what is the most secure type of cryptography today?
In CLAI PAYMENTS® Technologies we bet on symmetric encryption methods corresponding to updated standards such as AES and TR-31 that allow to strengthen the protection of keys in the exchange of information in the payment environment in an effective and integral way.
With our Cryptography as a Service solution, you will be able to obtain the flexibility to implement the most appropriate encryption method for your company, as well as integrity and security for your data through the highest security standards. If you want to know more about this solution, leave us your details below and our specialized team will contact you.
