5 min read
What Do Companies Perceive as the Most Important Encryption Features?
Ulrich Scholten (guest) & Stefan Hansen
:
09. October 2022
![What Do Companies Perceive as the Most Important Encryption Features?](https://www.cryptomathic.com/hubfs/Images_misc/Blog-Photos/Ponemon-study-ckms-crypto.jpg)
The need for certain encryption technology features can vary from company to company, depending on their individual needs for securing their data.
In a recent Global Encryption Trends Study Survey by the Ponemon Institute, it was found that some encryption features are considered as more essential than others, especially for strong key management.
1. Performance
At the top of the list are encryption features which are most important for their security posture, companies value system performance and low latency. This should come as no surprise because the use of encryption in networking is crucial for protecting large amounts of data.
2. Policy Enforcement
![CSG Achieving Real-World Crypto-Agility](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/531679/49eac66b-ccf4-4af1-9a57-264c2a8d6bfb.png)
It is critical that a chosen encryption technology solution can enforce an organization’s security policy. Otherwise, this will likely result in disruption and cause time and money to be spent trying to resolve incompatibilities, including those involving key management.
3. Supports Both Cloud and On-Premise Deployment
Today, businesses need to secure data that is used in both their cloud and on-premise applications. This makes finding an encryption technology solution that can be deployed in such hybrid environments for key management essential.
4. Key Management ![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/531679/e4bec02f-585c-41a1-b29b-fae69a4b7b96.png)
Protecting and securely managing cryptographic keys is critical for securing sensitive and confidential data. Strong key management is an essential feature that is desired in an encryption technology solution (for security and compliance purposes). Encryption is useless if the keys aren’t managed properly and protected against unauthorized access.
5. Capable of Integrating with Other Security Tools
The ability to integrate with other security tools right out of the box is vital for an encryption technology solution. This saves time, money, and effort, trying to get the solution to work with other critical security tools like SIEM and ID management.
6. Support for Emerging Algorithms
As threats to data security evolve, so will the need for new algorithms for use in key management and other areas. An encryption technology solution should feature support for emerging algorithms, including quantum-resistant ones.
7. System Scalability
No two businesses are the same. An encryption technology solution that is a good fit for both Company A and Company B now may not be a good fit in the future if Company B's needs grow exponentially. As a result, the solution must be scalable in order to accommodate future system expansions.
8. Formal Product Security Certifications
Depending on its industry, a business may be required to follow one or more sets of regulations related to the handling of security for its data. The tools it uses for security compliance, including its encryption technology solutions, must be certified according to those regulations, for example, FIPS-140 or PCI DSS.
9. Considerations for Separation of Duties and Role-Based Controls
The minimum amount of permissions is always the best policy when providing access to sensitive data. An encryption technology solution should make it easy to allow access based on the separation of duties and role-based controls.
10. Dedicated Hardware that is Tamper Resistant
The physical security of data is a concern for many businesses. Therefore, having a dedicated hardware encryption technology solution like a hardware security module (HSM) that provides tamper-resistance is a feature that many seek.
11. Supports Multiple Applications or Environments
Enterprise systems are the norm for businesses and require shared resources. Most companies want and need an encryption technology solution that can support multiple applications or environments.
12. Regional Segregation Support
The world continues to grow smaller as more companies expand globally. This brings issues like data residency and increased security risks concerning third-party access to data. Companies are subject to a greater variety of compliance issues and regulations based on different regions around the globe. Their encryption technology solutions must be able to provide support in protecting data to be compliant in various regions.
Cryptomathic’s Crypto Key Management System (CKMS) and the Crypto Service Gateway (CSG) - the banking grade key management and encryption solutions
The following list gives specific answers on the encryption features discussed in this article in relation to Cryptomathic’s CKMS and CSG.
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