The veteran IT security vendor says that, whilst businesses are always looking for reliable and cost-effective ways to access, manage, and transport information to ensure maximum availability and minimum impact to operations, they need to ensure that data security does not get pushed down the priority list.
According to Juan Asenjo, Thales' global product marketing manager, whilst businesses are generally aware of the data breach risks associated with data in storage, his firm finds that they are typically less knowledgeable about the security procedures associated with data in transit.
"As a result, sensitive data often remains unprotected at certain points in the processing chain, representing significant vulnerabilities", he said.
"Given the nature of today's business environment, this situation is unacceptable, particularly as many companies now operate globally and depend on interconnected systems to carry on their day-to-day operations", he added.
Asenjo reports that, as regulators increasingly try to mandate data security, encryption is rapidly emerging as the default protection mechanism for securing information while in storage, in transit and in use.
Against this backdrop, he said that the Thales guide aims to dispel some of the myths often associated with encryption.
"For example, many enterprises still believe that the computing power required to secure data exchanged through encryption can harm the business by slowing down operational efficiencies", he said.
"It is also important to correct the misconception that data in storage or at rest is more vulnerable to attack than data in transit as it is stationary in one location. In actual fact, data in transit has a dramatically higher level of exposure", he added.
According to Asenjo, in today's highly distributed networked environment it is crucial to have the certainty that data hasn't been copied, altered or compromised.
"The tried and tested technique of data encryption is already widely used to protect storage networks holding highly confidential and mission-critical data", he said.
"Because data in transit is part of this overall fabric, security of the transport infrastructure must be part of the solution to this challenge", he added.
"Whilst there is no single solution to ensure complete data security, the guide explains how encryption can go a long way towards addressing the security issue affecting today's highly distributed business environment."