Data security is a really important topic, especially for the increasingly digitized and interconnected world that is flourishing. That is why data encryption plays an important role for the insurance industry.
In the same sense, we seek, through a compilation of articles, to inform, raise awareness and call the attention of insurance companies so that they can opt for mechanisms such as data encryption and that this will help them to keep one of their most important assets safe: information.
What is the data?
Data refers to information and this information can be composed of:
- Messages in e-mails.
- Contents of a database.
- Files stored in a computer.
What is data encryption?
The word encryption comes from a mixture of English and Greek, which means «to hide». In this sense we can then say that data encryption is a process by which information is hidden from malicious attacks.
We encrypt data to keep it confidential, and it is part of a broad type of defensive cybersecurity tactics known as «Data Security.»
Data Security
According to the PreyProyect article, data security is all about keeping our data safe from unauthorized access, ramsomware (malicious form of encryption), breaches or malicious corruption.
How to encrypt data?
Encryption works by means of a complex mathematical algorithm known as cipher. This encryption algorithm transforms normal data (plain text) into a sequence of characters that are not recognizable and appear random.
This is known as «ciphertext«.
The ciphertext is unreadable, at least if you try to find some meaning in it. For a better understanding, here is an example:
If the main phrase were «LISA Insurtech» it can be transformed into a ciphertext that reads as «QWEU AIFNTECPI«.
To return to «LISA Insurtech» a decryption process is required. This decryption requires the use of the same algorithm that was used to encrypt, except this time, the mathematical «key» that was used to change plaintext to ciphertext is used to change it back to plaintext.
How is data encryption handled at LISA Insurtech?
All our databases are encrypted and protected, including those of our customers. In addition, customer cloud access is limited because only the cloud administrator can share, manipulate and interact with that information.