In the consumer market, end-to-end encryption has become very popular in recent years. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Skype are household names with end-to-end encryption capabilities. However, the enterprise sector has been slower in adopting end-to-end encryption - though we do see some business communication platforms now, including end-to-end encryption to support customer security and compliance requirements.
End-to-end encryption - it's a must-have for enterprises
Many companies rely on cloud providers to keep their data safe, while others set up their on-premise servers to ensure data remains within their physical boundaries. Those organisations that rely on the security measures offered by their cloud providers will find that this security provides data encryption at rest. Data becomes vulnerable if hackers access the providers' servers where encryption keys are stored because of E2EE stores encryption keys on user devices and not on servers. Access to encrypted data during such a breach would not be possible.
How it works
What does an encrypted message look like? Here's an example:
From the encrypted text there isn't any way to work out what it means — unless you have the private key and can decrypt it.
End-to-end encryption is an encryption technique that uses cryptographic keys to scramble messages between a sender and a recipient. A piece of software on a sender’s device generates two keys — a public and a private key. The public key can be shared publicly, in the sense that anyone can use the public key. However, the private key should only be used by the receiver, to decrypt the data for the specified recipient.
In theory, hackers can intercept the message in transit, and service providers can access the encrypted message to store it. But the message will appear unintelligible gibberish, as the original contents are only visible to the sending and receiving devices. No other interceptors (hackers, service providers, or anyone else) have the correct keys to decrypt the message.
This practice ensures data is only viewed in its true form on the sending and receiving devices and nowhere in between.
Why Soliton has E2EE standard in its enterprise remote access solutions
Security in transit
End-to-end (asymmetric) encryption uses public key cryptography, which stores private keys on the endpoint devices. These messages can only be decrypted using these keys, so only people with access to the endpoint devices can read the message.
Tamper-proof
If a message encrypted with a public key gets altered or tampered with in transit, the recipient will not decrypt it, so the tampered contents will not be viewable. With E2EE, the decryption key is no transmitted; the recipient already has it. It automatically proves the authenticity of the message.
Compliance
Regulatory compliance laws can require encryption-level data security. End-to-end encryption can help organisations protect that data. Moreover, having E2EE should be an essential part of securing the company's intellectual property.
Data integrity
Other security setups can allow outside users could gain access to data and manipulate it before it reaches the recipient. Worse, they can even stop its delivery entirely. Using E2EE means these malicious actors do not have the necessary key to access data in transit, so data integrity is maintained.
Reduce attack vector
Encryption mostly happens at the server level. However, if a malicious actor or other outsider gains access to that server, they can decrypt any communication on that server fairly easily. Multiple device-level hacks to get the information that they want are considerably more difficult and time-consuming to do, leading most hackers to avoid those types of attacks altogether.
Avoid High-Cost Attacks and Reputation Damage
Using E2EE helps organisations to avoid potentially high-cost attacks, and also the negative publicity that surrounds these breaches.
E2EE provides high-value benefits to enterprises and users. However, the security practice still suffers from several shortcomings and has led to some public safety concerns:
Complexity in defining the endpoints
Some E2EE implementations enable the encrypted data to be decrypted and re-encrypted at certain points during transmission, which is why Soliton's solutions clearly define the endpoints of the communication circuit.
Visible metadata
During transit, messages are encrypted and impossible to read. But information about the message (date sent and recipient, for instance) is still visible. This provides vital information for Data Protection Officers to ensure data stays within allowed endpoints.
Endpoint security
If endpoints are compromised, there is a risk encrypted data may be revealed. This is why Soliton has the Zero Trust embedded in all its solutions, either preventing data from residing on endpoints or storing it in an encrypted container.
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