Difference Between Data at Rest and Data in Transit
When data is actively moving from one location to another either via the internet or a private network, this is known as data in transit, or data in motion. At this state, data is considered to be less secure since it is not within your network. As such, data protection for transit is important to safeguard the data while it is moving from your storage to the cloud, for example.
Data at rest is the exact opposite of data in transit. This is data that is not actively moving and is safely stored somewhere such as a flash drive, laptop, hard drive, etc. Data protection at rest is designed to protect this data. While considered safer, it is still a high-value target for hackers and other people with malicious intent, so it is important to have proper safety measures in place.
Overall, the risk profile of data in transit and data at rest is dependent on what types of security measures are in place. Either way, it is imperative for enterprises and organizations to protect data whether it is at rest or in transit to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
What Encryption Does for Data in Transit and Data at Rest
Data in transit and data at rest are both at risk from hackers and malicious programs, so they require protection in both states. There are several ways to protect the data, and encryption plays a major role. It is a popular tool used for data protection and for good reason, as it gets results. It is common practice to encrypt data before it is sent out, so the contents are protected. This can also be done for data at rest as well.
Best Practices
Whether in transit or at rest, if data is left unprotected, this will leave the organization at risk of an attack. There are available data protection systems and solutions to protect data at endpoints and networks.
In addition to encryption, here are other ways you can protect both data in transit and data at rest.
- Create robust network security controls in order to help data in transit, such as firewalls that help secure networks used to transmit data.
- Rely more on proactive security than a reactive one.
- Make use of data protection solutions that have policies that enable user blocking, prompting, and automatic encryption for data in transit sent through email networks or moved from one storage to another.
- Categorize and classify all types of data in the company. This helps ensure that the appropriate data protection systems and solutions are used on the right files.
When utilizing cloud storage services, it is important to evaluate the vendor to ensure that your data is protected and safe.
Data in transit, when compared to data at rest, may have different risk profiles, but that depends on t he sensitivity of the data and its value. They may then become primary targets of attackers and hackers. This is why a proactive approach to digital security is important to ensure your data’s security.
Also Read,
How to protect your sensitive data
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