Data is the foundation of every organization. Business organizations collect and generate large amounts of data which may include trade secrets, client information, financial data, employee information, R&D data, etc. Cybercriminals target this data to cause business disruption for multiple reasons including financial benefits (ransom), causing harm to the business organization, etc.

A data breach can cause significant financial and reputational harm to a business. This makes it imperative for all organizations to protect their data. Secure Distributed Data Storage has evolved as an effective solution for storing data.

What is Secure Distributed Data Storage?

Secure Distributed Data Storage is a system that stores and processes data at multiple physical locations instead of one centralized location. This approach is the exact opposite of the traditional cloud storage system as it eliminates the use of a central server. The data is distributed across a number of physical network nodes or even multiple cloud servers.

A popular example of Secure Distributed Data Storage is Google Cloud Platform’s Spanner.

What is the Importance of Secure Distributed Data Storage?

The importance of Secure Distributed Data Storage lies in the advantages this approach offers as compared to a single machine or single server data store.

1. Performance: Even the minutest delay in data retrieval or an app loading can immensely impact a business. When a large amount of data is stored on a centralized server, multiple data requests can lower its performance by causing data traffic resulting in user frustration, loss of sales, and revenue loss. When data is distributed across multiple locations, data requests are also distributed, which helps in improving the performance by lowering the response time.
2. Scalability: Rapid growth in user number and cyclical usage pattern are two major reasons why businesses or applications need to scale up the data storage regularly. Scaling up helps in meeting the load requirements without causing a delay in response time. In case of a single machine storage system, only vertical scaling is possible. Vertical scaling refers to the process of upgrading the machine’s CPU, RAM, or storage capacity. However, Secure Distributed Data Storage offers horizontal scaling in addition to vertical scaling. Horizontal scaling means adding new network nodes or cloud servers.
3. Reliability: Secure Distributed Data Storage is highly reliable. By distributing data across multiple locations, it also distributes the risk factor. Most Secure Distributed Data Storage systems replicate data before storing it at multiple locations. So, in case one server is compromised resulting in data loss, data can easily be retrieved from other servers. Additionally, use of multiple servers helps in improving the percentage availability time and fault-tolerance of the system.

Key Features of Secure Distributed Data Storage:

1. Secure Environment
2. Fully Authenticated System
3. Zero-Trust Practice
4. Data Replication
5. Data Encryption at Rest & in Transit

Contact Centex Technologies for more information on Secure Distributed Data Storage and enterprise network planning. You can contact Centex Technologies at Killeen (254) 213 - 4740, Dallas (972) 375 - 9654, Atlanta (404) 994 - 5074, and Austin (512) 956 – 5454.

Cryptography is fundamentally dependent on mathematical operations and computations. The complexity of data computations directly relates to how secure the technique is. AES is one of the most complex encryption software. It encrypts data using highly complex mathematical operations.

Data transmissions via the internet are secured by ciphers like AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). AES employs a symmetric encryption methodology. Symmetric encryption algorithms use the same key for performing both encryption as well as decryption operations. It involves multiple iterations of implementing the SPN (Substitution Permutation Network) algorithm to encrypt data. The impenetrability of AES results from these encryption rounds, which are impossible to get through due to their sheer number.

The AES algorithm is compact, safe, and suitable for various hardware, software, and firmware. It is available for public or private businesses, for-profit or nonprofit endeavors, without any cost to any third party.

How does AES provide secure encryption using multiple lengths of encryption keys?

AES keys come in three different lengths. Several key combinations may be used for each key length, including: -

• AES 128-bit key length: 3.4 x 1038 (or 3.4 x 1038 possible combinations),
• AES 192-bit key length: 6.2 x 1057 (or 6.2 x 1057 possible combinations),
• AES 256-bit key length: 1.1 x 1077 (or 1.1 x 1077 possible combinations).

The static size of the encryption block is 128 bits equating to 16 bytes. The use of varied key lengths has exacerbated a few problems. Since it is the least crackable, some experts prefer to utilize the key length of 256 bits. Several military forces and LEAs (Law Enforcement Agencies) also use 256-bit keys. The AES method with 256-bit keys is frequently referred to as military-grade encryption. However, the longer the key length, the more processing power is needed to encrypt and decode the data or message.

For instance, software that uses AES-256 rather than AES-128 may cause the laptop battery to discharge a little bit more quickly. Thankfully, contemporary technology reduces the resource difference to such a negligible level that there is no justification for not using 256-bit AES encryption.

How has AES facilitated and benefitted the secure communications arena?

• The length of the encryption key is customizable as per application use

Keys of lengths of 128 bits, 192 bits, and 256 bits can all be used for AES encryption. Cybersecurity experts recommend using a 128-bit key for commercial business purposes. AES-256 offers higher security and can be used by governments to secure their private servers.

• Publicly vetted and approved algorithm used by Law Enforcement and Military forces

The AES algorithm has been standardized by NIST and made available as an open-source resource, making it simpler for the general public to trust. Furthermore, since the same method is used by hardware, software, and firmware, there are no interoperability problems.

• AES can function in limited computing resources

NIST said that it wants to replace DES and included a requirement that the new algorithm should work on hardware with a range of different computational power. That condition is exactly met by AES. On 8-bit smart cards and quick computers, it functions equally effectively.

• Quicker rate of encryption and decryption operations

Compared to DES and Triple-DES, AES encryption processes data more quickly. AES outperforms Triple-DES by a factor of around six on the same hardware.

• Resistant and impenetrable encryption to quantum computing attacks

AES-256 is a widely accepted encryption algorithm across the globe. The software has been tested to resist decryption or cracking attacks by quantum computers within a given amount of time.

Is AES the most secure encryption algorithm known?

A 128-bit AES encryption key may be cracked in as little as 36 quadrillion years. A 256-bit AES key has an incredible 984,665,640,564,039,457,584,007,913,129,639,936 possible combinations. Hence, experts assume that a brute-force cyber-attack on AES encryption might not occur without heavy computing resources. As a result, AES is one of the most secure symmetric encryption ciphers available today.

The development of social networking applications, remote work, and eCommerce were all made possible by the powerful encryption offered by AES. The AES algorithm is crucial for the majority of online businesses since it can function on devices with low computational power.

To know more about various encryption standards and how to keep your mobile and web applications secure, contact Centex Technologies at Killeen (254) 213 - 4740, Dallas (972) 375 - 9654, Atlanta (404) 994 - 5074, and Austin (512) 956 – 5454.

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