Why Security Algorithms Must Be Part of Your Business Plan

A standard, quality antivirus platform is good enough to protect the data of most individuals, but when businesses pose higher risks and more promising opportunities for criminals. If you’re a business owner the security of your business should be first and foremost in your mind. Which is why making the use of security algorithms a component of your standard business practices is more or less a necessity. Here’s everything you need to know about security algorithms.

What’s at Risk

A study from the Ponemon Institute indicates that businesses are losing millions of dollars every year due to security breaches, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg regarding the risks of a weak security system. Your customers entrust their personal information to you. From credit card information to addresses to personal metrics about their behavior, a considerable number of information could be conceivably in your company’s hands, and a breach could damage your company’s reputation irreparably.

How Algorithms Work

When we talk about algorithms in terms of security policies, we’re speaking in terms of encryption. A security system that makes use of algorithms will convert your transmissions into essentially gibberish when they transfer over a network and then deconstruct them back into their original formula. This ensures that anyone who tries to access your data will this information is in transit won’t be able to read it. At least that’s how it works in hypothetical terms. Hackers are clever criminals, and more complex algorithms are naturally more difficult to crack. There are a number of popular algorithms in standard use today. While Data Encryption Standard (DES) was once an algorithm used across the board, it was quickly cracked by hackers, and a number of enterprising white hats have taken it upon themselves to design replacements. Triple DES was once the de facto industry standard, but it’s started to be phased out. Despite this, it’s still used frequently in some businesses, especially among financial institutions. Today, the market for algorithms is crowded by a number of unique designs like RSA, Blowfish, and AES.

Why Algorithms Are Important

The large field of encryption processes on the market are an indication of the cold war taking place between hackers and security specialists. Keeping the data of your business and consumers secure means staying ahead of the curve, and the automated encryption of algorithms allows a far more sophisticated approach to network security than more conventional methods. But the rapid rate at which security changes means that you’re going to want to enlist the services of quality security experts who can help you understand the current landscape. Whether this means calling in an outside contractor or expanding your IT team, the peace of mind will be well worth the investment.

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