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Data Protection

Encrypt, hash, and control access to sensitive information

Overview​

Data Protection ensures that sensitive information remains confidential and unmodified, whether stored or transmitted. It answers:

  1. In Transit: How do we encrypt data moving between systems?
  2. At Rest: How do we encrypt data stored in databases?
  3. Key Management: How do we generate, store, and rotate encryption keys?
  4. Integrity: How do we verify data hasn't been tampered with?

This section covers:

  • Encryption in Transit (TLS/mTLS): Secure communication channels
  • Encryption at Rest (Envelope Encryption): Protecting stored data
  • Key Management (HSM, KMS): Secure key handling
  • Hashing & Password Storage: Irreversible data protection
  • Tokenization & Pseudonymization: Data masking techniques

Key Principles​

  • Defense in Depth: Layer encryption, don't rely on one mechanism
  • Zero Knowledge: Architects/operators don't have unencrypted data access
  • Key Separation: Different keys for different data classifications
  • Rotation: Regularly replace encryption keys
  • Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements (HIPAA, PCI, GDPR)

Common Challenges​

  • Key Management Complexity: Where and how to store keys?
  • Performance Impact: Encryption adds latency; balance security and speed
  • Backward Compatibility: Rotating encryption keys while supporting old data
  • Compliance Alignment: Different regulations require different approaches
  • Visibility: Can't easily search encrypted data (unless using advanced techniques)

Encryption Fundamentals​

  • Symmetric: One key encrypts and decrypts (AES-256, ChaCha20). Fast, scalable.
  • Asymmetric: Public key encrypts, private key decrypts (RSA, ECDSA). Enables key exchange.
  • Hashing: One-way function. Hash("password") ≠ Hash("password") reversible. Used for verification.

Next Steps​

Explore each topic to design comprehensive data protection for your systems.