Several months ago, I realized that I had a lot of sensitive files on my computer (my diary, if you must know) that I was afraid of losing, but I didn’t feel comfortable putting them in something like Google Drive or Dropbox.
This is because even if the service provider loses the data, nobody will have the keys to decrypt it! End-to-end encryption significantly reduces the likelihood of a user’s data being maliciously stolen from, or otherwise mishandled by a service provider. Some of the most popular examples of this type of encryption are chat apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
The next improvement on this technology that’s starting to gain popularity is end-to-end encryption, which refers to a system where only the end-users are able to access their data - not any intermediate service providers. Disk encryption, which protects data while it’s sitting idly on your phone or laptop’s hard drive, is also becoming ubiquitous because it prevents anybody who steals your device from also being able to see what’s on your desktop or read your email.
Transport-layer encryption, which protects data as it’s sent across the Internet to its intended destination, is now ubiquitous because it’s a fundamental tool for creating a trustworthy Internet. Encryption is one of the most powerful technologies that everyone uses on a daily basis without realizing it.