Encryption: From How It Works to Brute Force Attack Threats

As we know, data protection is no longer just an optional add-on, but the foundation of business operations. The risk of data leakage can not only destroy your company’s reputation but also expose you to legal data protection liabilities in a matter of seconds.

Encryption is part of a defense system ensuring sensitive information remains unreadable to unauthorized parties. However, understanding this mechanism technically is the first step to building a comprehensive security strategy.

What Is Encryption?

Encryption is a mathematical process that transforms readable information (plaintext) into scrambled, unintelligible code (ciphertext), so its contents are locked and can only be accessed again by a party possessing a valid (decryption) key.

Its primary goal is to maintain data confidentiality, whether the data is stored (data at rest) or transmitted over a network (data in transit).

Without the correct decryption key, encrypted data is merely a collection of random characters with no value to hackers. This is a fundamental mechanism in modern information security.

How Does Encryption Work?

The encryption process does not happen by chance but through the structure of highly complex logical algorithms. Understanding this flow is important for IT decision-makers to determine better security standards.

1. The Role of Cryptographic Keys (Public & Private Keys)

In modern cryptography, data security depends on key management. This system generally uses two types of keys:

• Public Key
  It can be shared freely to encrypt messages, akin to a mail slot open to anyone.
• Private Key
  Kept secretly by the owner, and serves as the only way to open (decrypt) the message.

2. The Data Transformation Process (Plaintext to Ciphertext)

Data transformation begins when an encryption algorithm is applied to the plaintext. This algorithm scrambles the data structure based on patterns determined by the encryption key.

[Image of encryption and decryption process diagram]

The final result is ciphertext, which looks like a meaningless string of characters. This process ensures that even if data is stolen en route, its contents remain protected from visual interception.

3. Key Length and Resilience (Brute Force)

Encryption strength relies heavily on key length (in bits). The longer the key, the more possible combinations exist, requiring hackers to expend significantly more time and computational cost to crack it.

This becomes the main fortress for defense against Brute Force Attacks. These attacks forcibly try every possible key combination until the correct one is found.

Types of Encryption

Choosing an encryption type must align with the speed and security level needs of your organization. Generally, there are two main categories.

1. Symmetric Encryption

This method uses a single, identical key for both encryption and decryption. Its advantage lies in processing speed, making it ideal for securing large amounts of data.

2. Asymmetric Encryption

This method uses a key pair (public and private). Although slower than symmetric encryption, it offers better security scalability for open communication.

Why Is Encryption Crucial?

In an era where data is dubbed the most valuable asset, protecting it is a business priority. Statistics show that the average cost of global data breaches continues to rise annually.

1. Protecting Data Across Devices

Modern employees work from anywhere using various devices. Encryption ensures data on laptops, phones, or tablets remains secure even if the device is lost or stolen.

Without full-disk encryption, thieves can easily copy hard drive contents and access confidential documents without needing user account access. With encryption, a stolen physical device effectively turns into a digital “brick,” as the data inside is unreadable without a valid decryption key.

2. Data Integrity

Besides maintaining confidentiality, encryption plays a vital role in ensuring data authenticity. This mechanism helps verify that information was not altered during transmission, preventing Man-in-the-Middle attacks attempting to manipulate data.

In practice, encryption often works alongside hashing functions to detect even minute changes. If a message is altered by just one bit during transmission—whether due to technical glitch or sabotage—the verification process will fail. Thus, the recipient immediately knows the data is no longer trustworthy.

3. Protecting Digital Transformation

As companies move systems and data to the cloud, security risks evolve. Unlike internal servers, cloud data is stored on third-party infrastructure, limiting direct corporate control.

In the shared responsibility model, cloud providers are generally responsible for infrastructure security, while data protection lies fully with the customer. Implementing encryption—especially client-side encryption—ensures that only the company has full control over sensitive data, regardless of the physical server location.

4. Helping Meet Compliance Requirements

In Indonesia, encryption implementation is closely tied to Law No. 27 of 2022 (UU PDP). This regulation mandates data controllers to implement technical measures to protect personal data.

Failure to implement adequate security standards can lead to severe sanctions. You need to ensure your security architecture aligns with these compliance principles.

5. Secure Communication

Without encryption, emails or instant messages sent by employees potentially risk interception by unauthorized parties. Encryption creates a secure communication channel for exchanging critical and strategic company information.

This becomes crucial when employees access corporate systems via public networks, like airport or cafe Wi-Fi, which are vulnerable to eavesdropping. Encryption protocols like TLS (Transport Layer Security) protect every data packet sent, keeping login credentials and sensitive documents safe even if network traffic is monitored.

6. Protection Against Insider Threats

Not all threats come from outside the organization. In many cases, risk comes from insiders with legitimate access rights. At this point, encryption alone is insufficient if access keys are in the hands of inappropriate users.

Therefore, encryption needs to be combined with Identity and Access Management (IAM). This approach ensures user access is strictly managed throughout the employee lifecycle, including instant access revocation upon exit, as well as context-based access restrictions.

Integration between data encryption and identity management creates a layered defense, enforcing the least privilege principle. This way, even users with administrative rights cannot read sensitive data—like payroll or health information—without special authorizatio,n significantly reducing internal abuse risks.

Understanding End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)

End-to-end encryption is the gold standard for communication privacy. In this model, only the sender’s and receiver’s devices possess the unique cryptographic keys to open the message.

Unlike standard encryption, which might decrypt data temporarily on intermediary servers, E2EE guarantees that even service providers cannot access your message content. This significantly mitigates data leakage risks, as even if the service provider’s server is hacked, attackers only get useless random code.

The most common business application is seen in instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal. These apps use E2EE protocols to ensure strategic discussions or confidential document exchanges cannot be intercepted by telecommunication providers or the app owners themselves.

Real-World Encryption Application Examples

Unbeknownst to us, encryption works behind the scenes of our daily digital activities. Here are the most common implementations in business environments:

• HTTPS on Websites (SSL/TLS)
  HTTPS security certificates visible in browsers signify encrypted connections, protecting customer transaction data from eavesdropping.
• Digital Signatures
  Using asymmetric cryptography to validate the authenticity of contracts or electronic invoices.
• VPN (Virtual Private Network)
  Encrypts all employee internet traffic during remote work, creating a private network over insecure public networks.

Strengthen Your Encryption Defense with Intelligent Access Management

Strong encryption requires equally strong key and access management. Do not let weak passwords or uncontrolled employee access become gaps for Brute Force and Insider Threat attacks.

You can strengthen this security layer with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and strict access policies. Managing thousands of digital identities requires a centralized and automated system.

With the support of Adaptist Prime, your company can build a digital ecosystem that is secure, time-efficient, and ready to grow without sacrificing data protection or user convenience.

FAQ

Can encryption be hacked?

Theoretically, yes, but with modern standards like AES-256, it would take millions of years for current supercomputers to crack it via brute force. The biggest risk usually lies in user negligence in guarding keys or passwords, not the mathematical algorithm.

What is the difference between encryption and hashing?

Encryption is two-way (can be returned to the original form if you have the key), while hashing is one-way (cannot be returned). Hashing is usually used for data integrity verification or storing passwords in databases.

Does encryption slow down the internet?

In the past, yes. But with modern processors having specialized instructions for encryption (like AES-NI), the impact on internet speed or system performance is now almost negligible.