Technology Firms Delivering Much-Sought Encryption-in-Use
If the approaches stand up to scrutiny, companies may soon be able to encrypt most databases in a way that allows using data without needing to decrypt to plaintext.
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Background for this topic.
Encryption transforms readable data into ciphertext using an algorithm and a key, so someone who obtains the ciphertext cannot normally understand it without the required key. It protects confidentiality for data in transit, such as traffic between services, and at rest, such as files, databases, and backups. Encryption does not by itself prove who sent data, prevent tampering, or protect plaintext displayed on a compromised endpoint.
Its security therefore depends on implementation and key management. Attackers may target stolen, exposed, or overprivileged keys, weak algorithms or protocols, poor randomness, and systems that decrypt data unnecessarily. Use modern, authenticated encryption where appropriate; protect keys separately from encrypted data with tightly limited access, rotation and revocation procedures, and monitored use. Verify that encryption covers relevant backups and internal service links, while recognizing that lost keys can make recovery impossible and that encrypted traffic may still reveal metadata such as timing or endpoints.
If the approaches stand up to scrutiny, companies may soon be able to encrypt most databases in a way that allows using data without needing to decrypt to plaintext.
A decryption tool for a modified version of the Conti ransomware could help hundreds of victims recover their files for free. [...]
The ransomware group has already claimed 116 victim organizations so far on its site, and it continues to mature as a thriving cybercriminal business, researchers said.
Any sufficiently stupid technology is indistinguishable from magical thinking Opinion Around the world, a vital technology is failing. Just as massive solar flares fry satellites and climate-change superstorms overwhelm flood defences, so a new surge of ridiculous IT-related events is burning out irony meters across the globe.…