Data at Rest vs. Data in Transit: What’s the Difference?

data in transit

In the modern world, data has become the number one resource anybody can own. It’s with this in mind that companies, every year, pay literally millions of dollars for various data protection plans and services. Because to lose that information can often mean setting your business back immensely. Which is where the distinction between data at rest and data in transit comes in.

Join us, today, as we break down these two data types, the inherent risks that come with each of them, and what the best ways are to be proactive about risks.

Data In Transit: A Closer Look

Data in motion is actively traveling from one location to another across the digital channels of the Internet or a private network. A big concern with data of this sort is protection while it is moving, as it may be lost or intercepted in various ways. Moving from network to network or to the cloud from a local storage device can be particularly challenging. Overall, data is considered less safe when it’s moving.

Data At Rest: A Definition

Idle data, as you might expect, is at rest. It’s not traveling from network or device to another in any way. Think of data stored on hard drives and flash drives, or sometimes inside of laptops or computers.

When it comes to data at rest, protection aims to preserve inactive data stored on devices or networks. This data is less susceptible to interception and is often considered more valuable to attackers than data in motion.

Depending on your business and the nature of your data, it may need protection both while in transit and at rest. As attackers develop new and innovative ways to compromise systems for their own purposes, it is important to stay vigilant.

Encryption

Data can be at risk at any time, whether during transportation or at rest. It needs protection regardless of what state it’s in.

There are several approaches to protecting your data. Encryption is a central pillar in this process and has been put to use in a wide variety of ways for data protection. Businesses trying to protect data in transit may choose to do so by encrypting the actual connections before moving their data.

Encrypting specific sensitive files or the drive itself is a straightforward approach that is hard to crack, remotely.

A few words to the wise, when it comes to encrypting servers or generally improving your data security may include the following:

  • firewalls, network access control, and other network security measures are best for keeping data in transit safe
  • insist on proactive security measures that identify potential cracks in your security and advise you on how to fix them
  • create policies for categorizing your company’s data across all platforms for a more secure network
  • look for database encryption that calls for input, blocking and sensitive encrypting, for more control

No Matter The Data, Protection First

Whether you store your data on your computer or transport it back and forth from the cloud, nobody wants to lose important information. With the right measures in place and a clear understanding of what you’re protecting (and why), you’ll be on your way to a more secure database file system.

Creating a safer, more reliable workplace is especially important when you’re a startup entrepreneur. Learn more about this and other tips for those crucial early years when you’re starting up your operation, with the rest of our amazing blog content, today!