Double Encryption: What It Is and Why You Need It
As technology advances, so do the methods used by cybercriminals and rogue nation-states to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. With cyber hackers becoming more sophisticated in their attacks, a single layer of encryption is not enough to keep your data safe. That’s where double encryption comes in. In this article, we’ll explore what double encryption is, how it works, and why it’s essential to protect your online privacy.
What Is Double Encryption?
Double encryption is a type of encryption technology that adds an extra layer of security to data and digital communications. By employing two separate encryption techniques on an email or file, double encryption ensures secure file sharing, managed file transfer, secure web forms, and transmission of email messages.
Double encryption significantly enhances the security of your sensitive file and email communications at rest and in motion. Even if a malicious attacker manages to break one encryption layer, they must still be unable to access the original data because of the second layer of encryption. This makes it much more difficult for cybercriminals and rogue nation-states to access your sensitive information.
How Does Double Encryption Work?
In a typical encryption process, file and email data is encrypted once using an encryption key, and then the encrypted data is transmitted to its intended recipient, who uses the same key to decrypt the data. In double encryption, the process is repeated using a second encryption key, resulting in an encrypted file that has been encrypted twice: once at the file level and a second time at the volume level. The recipient then uses the corresponding decryption keys to decrypt the data.
The first layer of double encryption is referred to as the outer layer. It is the first line of defense against any attempts to access private data. This layer encrypts files and email communications using one of a few common encryption algorithms such as AES-256 or TLS 1.2. The outer layer of encryption is usually the strongest layer and is often the main focus of security protocols and practices. This layer transforms original data into an unreadable format using a specific encryption algorithm. The second encryption layer encrypts the already encrypted data using a different algorithm. This process creates two layers of encryption that must be decrypted sequentially to access the original data.
Advantages of Double Encryption
There are several advantages to using double encryption for file and email data security:
Enhanced Security
The primary benefit of double encryption is enhanced security. By employing two different encryption techniques, double encryption makes it more difficult for an unauthorized user to access the data they are trying to intercept. This enhanced security helps to reduce the risk of a data breach and can help protect sensitive data from prying eyes.
Protection Against Keylogging
Double encryption can also provide protection against keylogging, which is the process of recording and capturing keystrokes as they are entered into a computer or device. By using two separate encryption techniques, it is more difficult for a keylogger to capture and decipher the data.
Protection Against Cyberattacks
Double encryption provides an extra layer of protection against cyberattacks, such as brute-force attacks. If an attacker obtains the encrypted data, they will need to break through two encryption layers instead of just one, making it more difficult and time-consuming.
Improved Privacy
By using double encryption, you can ensure that your data remains private and secure, even if it is intercepted by unauthorized individuals. This is particularly important if you’re sending sensitive information over the internet or storing data in the cloud.
Types of Double Encryption
There are three main types of double encryption: symmetric-key encryption, asymmetric-key encryption, and hashing and salting.
Symmetric-key Encryption
Symmetric encryption is a type of encryption that uses the same key for encoding and decoding data. This type of encryption is often combined with a hashing algorithm to provide an additional layer of protection. Hashing algorithms are designed to convert plaintext into a cryptographic hash that is then used to scramble the data. This makes it impossible to reverse the hash back into its original plaintext form. Symmetric encryption is often used in combination with another type of encryption, such as asymmetric encryption, to further strengthen the security.
Asymmetric-key Encryption
Asymmetric encryption is a type of encryption that uses two different keys—a public key and a private key—to encode and decode data. The public key is used to encode data, while the private key is used to decode the data. Asymmetric encryption is often used in combination with symmetric encryption for an additional layer of security. The public key is used to encrypt the data, while the private key is used to decrypt it. This makes it much more difficult for someone to gain unauthorized access to the data, as they would need to gain access to both the public and private keys.
Hashing and Salting
Hashing and salting is the process of encrypting data using cryptographic hash functions. This type of double encryption is used to create a unique signature or “fingerprint” for the data. This fingerprint can then be used to verify the authenticity of the data.
Best Practices for Double Encryption
Double encryption, also known as two-step encryption, is a stronger form of encryption that involves encrypting a file or message using two separate ciphers. This type of encryption is more secure than a single-step encryption, as it ensures a much higher level of protection against unauthorized access. When it comes to double encryption, a set of best practices must be followed to ensure that the files and messages are encrypted properly and are as secure as possible. Some of these best practices include:
Use Strong, Unique Passwords
It is important to use unique passwords when double encrypting files and messages. Using the same password for all files or messages can make them vulnerable to brute-force attacks by bad cyber actors.
Use a Combination of Encryption Algorithms
When double encrypting files and messages, it is important to use a combination of encryption algorithms to ensure the strongest encryption. For example, one algorithm may be used to encrypt the file, while another algorithm is used to encrypt the password.
Use a Secure Encryption Key
To ensure the maximum level of security, it is important to use a secure key when double encrypting files and messages. This key should be different from the one used to encrypt the original file or message.
Use a Secure Storage Method
The storage method used for encrypting files and messages should be secure and inaccessible to unauthorized users. This can include cloud storage, offline storage, or physical key storage.
Generate a Secure Hash
When double encrypting files and messages, a secure hash should be generated and included along with the encrypted file or message. This hash is a unique identifier that can be used to verify the integrity of the encrypted file or message.
Monitor for Unauthorized Access
To ensure the highest level of security, it is important to monitor the encrypted files and messages for any unauthorized access. This monitoring can include logging and tracking user IP addresses and access attempts.
Keep Software Updated
It is also important to keep all software and encryption techniques up to date. This ensures that the latest security protocols are being used and helps to protect against any potential vulnerabilities.
Limit Access to Sensitive Data
It is important to limit access to sensitive data. By restricting access to only authorized users, the risk of a data breach can be further reduced.
Back Up Encrypted Data
It’s a good practice to back up your encrypted data regularly. This ensures that you can recover your data in case of a system failure or other unexpected event.
Overall, double encryption is a strong form of encryption that can protect files and messages from unauthorized access. Following the best practices outlined above will help to ensure that the encryption is done correctly and securely.
Challenges of Double Encryption
The process of encrypting data twice requires additional computing power and can significantly slow down the data transmission process. Double encryption requires more processing time than single encryption, which can impact performance. However, the impact on processing time is minimal, and the benefits of enhanced security outweigh the slight decrease in performance.
Another challenge is that double encryption is not always compatible with existing systems and infrastructure. The additional layer of encryption can make it difficult to integrate into existing systems, particularly those that are not designed for double encryption.
Kiteworks Private Content Network Uses Double Encryption
Double encryption is a powerful security technique that provides an extra layer of protection against cyberattacks and unauthorized access to sends, shares, receives, and secures of sensitive information. Organizations seeking to secure their sensitive content communications can benefit from the Kiteworks Private Content Network that uses double encryption. Kiteworks encrypts each piece of content with a unique, strong key at the file level and with a different strong key at the disk-level volume. This ensures that each file is double encrypted. Further, file keys, volume keys, and other intermediate keys are encrypted when stored.
In addition, Kiteworks uses a passphrase entered by an administrator to generate a super key it uses in the encryption of all stored keys. Thus, when an administrator rotates the passphrase on a regular basis, as recommended, the process is quick and efficient because only the keys need to be re-encrypted and not all content.
Organizations that want to see how the Kiteworks Private Content Network employs double encryption across numerous communication channels—email, file sharing, managed file transfer, web forms, and application programming interfaces (APIs)—can schedule a custom demo today.
