In 2013, less than half of all web traffic was encrypted, according to Google. Today, the rate of network encryption stands at 95%.
On the one hand, that’s good for security. The more things are encrypted, the harder it is for attackers to steal data, eavesdrop on communications, and compromise systems.
On the other hand, the same encryption that can be used to protect people, data, and systems is also used by cybercriminals and state actors to protect their people, data, and systems.
According to a report released by Zscaler last fall, 80% of attacks now use encrypted channels – up from just 57% the previous year.
In fact, criminals are ahead of enterprises in their use of encryption.
According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2021 global encryption trends survey, 50% of organizations have a consistently-applied encryption strategy. Another 37% have a limited encryption strategy, applied to a limited number of applications or data types.
