Data security is very important. Keeping sensitive data secure is essential to protecting a company’s proprietary data from rival companies or from hackers. The best way to keep data secure is to implement data encryption using a public key infrastructure system. By utilizing PKI standards in addition to utilizing proper security policies and procedures, data integrity can be kept while minimizing possible data breeches (Wikipedia, 2014).

PKI utilizes two different types of keys. The key types are Asymmetric and Symmetric. Both key types are used to help validate users against and establish a trust between the certificate authority and the end user. However, the asymmetric and symmetric encryption keys operate differently in the ways they encrypt and decrypt the data.

Symmetric encryption uses a single key to encrypt the data. The data is first encrypted using a shared secret key. The data is then transmitted to the recipient. The recipient will then use the same shared secret key to decrypt the data. (Conklin, White, Williams, Davis, & Cothren, 2010)

Asymmetric encryption uses multiple keys in order to encrypt data. Data is encrypted uses a private key. The creator of the data keeps this key and a public key is created to decrypt the data. This system is more secure than using symmetric encryption where the keys must match (Conklin, White, Williams, Davis, & Cothren, 2010). Using asymmetric encryption data integrity can be kept by using certificate authorities to issue the key for the data. If a certificate/key becomes compromised or access needs to be denied, keys can be revoked to prevent data theft.

The best way to ensure data is kept secure I would recommend a combination a combination of security methods and protocols. The first portion of the protocol would be to ensure users of the computer systems only have the permissions they need to access the data. All hard drives on the computers should be encrypted utilizing a symmetric encryption algorithm linked to the user’s security privileges and access rights.

The next portion of the security protocol would be utilizing secure network transmission such as SSL or VPN between computers within the network. All computers within the network should be registered to the network and have the appropriate privileges just like the user accounts.

If for whatever reason a user is terminated or an account is breached, the users permissions should be disabled to prevent any unauthorized access to those resources. Any access attempts should be monitored for suspicious activities and if any are observed proper investigation should be started.

The third portion of the security protocol would have to deal with the employee’s accessing the resources. All employee’s should be trained on proper security protocol and follow acceptable use policies. They should report any suspicious activities or potential security threats to the appropriate department. This way if an account is compromised the appropriate steps can be performed.

In conclusion, using a PKI system in addition to having proper security protocols in place can help keep company data safe from anyone who could potentially take the data.

Bibliography

Conklin, W. A., White, G., Williams, D., Davis, R., & Cothren, C. (2010). Principles of Computer Security CompTIA Security+ and Beyond 2nd eddition. New York: McGraw Hill.

Wikipedia. (2014, July 14). Public Key Infrastructure. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_key_infrastructure