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An Encrypted Cloud Hosting - What Does It Mean?

The importance of IT security and data protection is constantly increasing: Cybercriminal attacks on servers and users are rising annually, and with the shift of many activities to home offices and the use of cloud services, the number of potential targets is also growing. It is now standard practice for data transmission to be encrypted, but many users are hesitant about the additional effort required for storage. Therefore, it is of particular importance when Cloud Hosting is encrypted. However, this term can have several meanings.

What does it mean when Cloud Hosting is encrypted?

Today, accessing websites is almost exclusively done through the HTTPS protocol, which only protects data transmission. The connection between a client and a website never occurs directly but passes through multiple nodes (gateways) and servers that forward the packets. Until the second decade of the 21st century, even large corporations like Facebook did not always ensure that communication was protected from third-party surveillance. Today, legal data protection regulations require all companies to prevent unauthorized access to connections through SSL certificates. In addition to this basic protection, it is also important to ensure the data security of stored information. In general, three different methods are available:

• Encryption by the web hosting provider, e.g., using At-Rest-Encryption
• Manual encryption by the client
• Automated encryption by client-side applications

Various methods can be used to ensure that Cloud Hosting is encrypted. A significant distinction lies between encryption by the customer or the provider, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. In the first case, encryption occurs automatically or manually before data transmission, ensuring that only the local owner with the appropriate key has access to the stored information. When the hoster encrypts the Cloud Hosting, it is usually an At-Rest-Encryption, encrypting and decrypting data during storage and retrieval through a secure cryptographic process, so that the corresponding files are not in plain text.

What risks do data encrypted in Cloud Hosting pose?

When data is encrypted by the Cloud Hosting, it inevitably means that the provider must have the corresponding key to write and make it readable. Several vulnerabilities arise from this, among which the most important is certainly the fact that after a successful attack, criminals can find and use the keys used. To prevent this, reputable providers store them on a special, highly secured Root Server. This provides protection against a partial attack on individual websites, but not if cybercriminals infiltrate an entire network and deliberately expand their rights. When information is encrypted through Cloud Hosting, this does not affect data transmission nor does it necessarily mean increased data protection or better data security. However, it does prevent abuse when criminals take over individual servers and significantly raises the barrier for unauthorized access.

What does it mean when the client encrypts data themselves?

Generally, it is considered the safest procedure when information is encrypted directly on-site. In this way, the required key is exclusively stored locally, which doubles the security of data transmission in connection with HTTPS and significantly increases data protection and security. However, private IT devices are often less protected than commercial dedicated or virtual servers, and a loss of the key means that all information is irretrievably lost. Some professional applications, for example in the medical field, have integrated and automated encryption procedures to enforce high data protection. Here, it depends on the manufacturer whether information can be manually decrypted and how migration between different programs or from one hardware to another is carried out.

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