Microsoft Windows 10 will natively and intrinsically support DNS over HTTPS protocol. It is an important privacy protection methodology, which makes it near impossible for even Internet Service Providers (ISP) to monitor internet traffic. DNS over HTTPS is an intensely contested technology, but is being increasingly taken into consideration by Google, and is already existent in the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

Microsoft appears to have taken a rather big pro-privacy and consumer rights issue. The companys latest operating system, Windows 10, would soon have one of the biggest internet privacy technologies. The hotly debated DNS Over HTTPS encryption methodology successfully encrypts, hides or obfuscates internet traffic in such a way that even the last-mile internet connectivity provider cannot snoop on the internet traffic. Google is currently testing the same for its Chrome web browser, while Mozilla has already implemented the same within the Firefox web browser.

DNS Over HTTPS is a rather new technology that is quickly emerging as one of the most important last-mile defensive techniques to protect the privacy of internet users. Technical jargon aside, the privacy technology effectively encrypts DNS connections and hides them in the common HTTPS traffic. Simply put, the DNS request made by internet users too is relayed or transmitted through the secure HTTPS protocol. DNS requests are basically any attempt by internet users to reach a website.

Despite significant improvements in online security and privacy, DNS requests are still sent over plaintext UDP connections. This means the ISPs can easily monitor internet traffic and deploy multiple techniques to either block traffic or monitor the websites visited by users. The data relayed over the internet is significantly encrypted as the majority of websites are quickly opting for HTTPS over traditional and less secure HTTP protocol. Hence it makes perfect sense that even the initial DNS request be made over the same highly secure HTTPS standard.

DNS over HTTPS is different from a VPN. Firefox web browser users can set Cloudflare as their DNS over HTTPS provider. Currently, only companies that offer a legally binding DNS resolver policy which stipulates a limit on their data use and retention policies, are able to join the list. On the other hand, users can disable or not activate DoH in Firefox to handle situations such as enterprise split-horizon DNS where a domain resolves differently depending on where the query originates from.

The DNS over HTTPS protocol (IETF RFC8484) can be built directly into apps. In other words, each application can choose to deploy its own DNS resolvers rather than depend on the operating system. But with Microsoft embedding the encryption methodology directly into Windows 10, any and all applications and web browsers installed on the PC should gain the ability to mask or encrypt DNS requests.

Given the nature and abilities of DNS over HTTPS protocol to completely obfuscate online behavior and data, it has come under heavy scrutiny and resistance from ISPs and security services. Many from the legal community claim the protocol could be used to bypass filtering obligations and parental controls, thereby impeding safety standards and possibly, investigations. It is quite likely that DNS over HTTPS could be extensively used by criminals or even everyday users to visit banned or censored websites.

Despite the controversy, Microsoft has indicated that they will be doing the hard work themselves and building the technology directly into Windows 10.Speaking about the same, Windows Core Networking engineers Tommy Jensen, Ivan Pasho, and Gabriel Montenegro said DoH in Windows will close one of the last remaining plain-text domain name transmissions in common web traffic. Microsoft added that it was worth the price [of courting controversy], saying it has to treat privacy as a human right and has to have end to end cybersecurity built into products.

Owing to the very nature of the encryption technology, and its abilities, it will be interesting to see how Microsoft moves ahead to implement DNS over HTTPS within Windows 10. The company has been making some rather interesting choices lately, and this is certainly one of them.

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Microsoft Windows 10 To Natively Support DNS Over HTTPS Encryption And Obfuscation Technique Making Internet Traffic Monitoring Near Impossible -...

The problem with encrypted data is that you must decrypt it in order to work with it. By doing so, its vulnerable to the very things you were trying to protect it from by encrypting it. There is a powerful solution to this scenario: homomorphic encryption. Homomorphic encryption might eventually be the answer for organizations that need to process information while still protecting privacy and security.

What Is Homomorphic Encryption? And Why Is It So Transformative?

What is homomorphic encryption?

Homomorphic encryption makes it possible to analyze or manipulate encrypted data without revealing the data to anyone. Something as simple as looking for a coffee shop when youre out of town reveals huge volumes of data with third parties as they help you satiate your caffeine cravingthe fact that youre seeking a coffee shop, where you are when youre searching, what time it is and more. If homomorphic encryption were applied in this fictional coffee search, none of this information would be visible to any of third parties or service providers such as Google. In addition, they wouldnt be able to see what answer you were given regarding where the coffee shop is and how to get there.

While we might be willing to part with the data that is exposed when we search for our next caffeine fix, homomorphic encryption has huge potential in areas with sensitive personal data such as in financial services or healthcare when the privacy of a person is paramount. In these cases, homomorphic encryption can protect the sensitive details of the actual data, but still, be analyzed and processed.

Another bonus of homomorphic encryption is that unlike other encryption models in use today, it is safe from getting broken by quantum computers.

Just like other forms of encryption, homomorphic encryption uses a public key to encrypt the data. Unlike other forms of encryption, it uses an algebraic system to allow functions to be performed on the data while its still encrypted. Then, only the individual with the matching private key can access the unencrypted data after the functions and manipulation are complete. This allows the data to be and remain secure and private even when someone is using it.

There are three main types of homomorphic encryption: partially homomorphic encryption (keeps sensitive data secure by only allowing select mathematical functions to be performed on encrypted data); somewhat homomorphic encryption (supports limited operations that can be performed only a set number of times); fully homomorphic encryption (this is the gold standard of homomorphic encryption that keeps information secure and accessible).

Dr. Craig Gentry describes homomorphic encryption as a glovebox where anybody can get their hands into the glovebox and manipulate what's inside, but they are prevented from extracting anything from the glovebox. They can only take the raw materials and create something inside the box. When they finish, the person who has the key can remove the materials (processed data).

Practical Applications of Homomorphic Encryption

While cryptographers have known of the concept of homomorphic encryption since 1978, it wasnt until Dr. Gentry created an algebraically homomorphic encryption system for his graduate thesis that the idea progressed and when Gentry established the first homomorphic encryption scheme in 2009. As mentioned, homomorphic encryption could make our searches more private on search engines, but there are other practical applications for it when using data or data is in transit.

One very relevant way homomorphic encryption can be used is to ensure democratic elections are secure and transparent. Votes could be added up while keeping the identities of the voters private; third parties could verify the results, and voting data would be protected from manipulation.

Its been challenging for highly regulated industries to securely outsource data to cloud environments or data-sharing partners for research and analytics. Homomorphic encryption could change that since it makes it possible for data to be analyzed without jeopardizing privacy. This can impact many industries, including financial services, information technology, healthcare, and more.

What are the barriers to using homomorphic encryption?

The biggest barrier to widescale adoption of homomorphic encryption is that it is still very slowso slow its not yet practical to use for many applications. However, there are companies such as IBM and Microsoft, and researchers such as Dr. Gentry who are working diligently to speed up the process by decreasing the computational overhead thats required for homomorphic encryption.

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What Is Homomorphic Encryption? And Why Is It So Transformative? - Forbes

Encrypted flash drives, essentially secure storage on a stick, are a proven technology that has been readily available for at least 15 years. A few years back, it seemed like they would fade into obsolescence, swept aside by the wave of streaming services and cloud storage.

Related: Can Europes GDPR restore data privacy?

And yet today there is a resurgence in demand for encrypted flash drives. Whats happened is this: Digital transformation has raced forward promoting high-velocity software innovation, with only a nod to security. This trend has opened up vast new tiers of attack vectors and threat actors are taking full advantage.

Security-conscious companies the ones who are proactively responding, not just to threat actors having a field day, but also to the specter of paying steep fines for violating todays stricter data privacy regulations are paying much closer attention to sensitive data circulating out in the field, as well they should.

Highly secure portable drives make perfect sense in numerous work scenarios; encrypted flash drives, specifically, are part of a global hardware encryption market on track to climb to $296.4 billion by 2020, up 55% as compared to 2015, according to Allied Market Research.

Fateful elevator pitch

One of the vendors I always enjoy speaking with in this space is DataLocker. Co-founder Jay Kim was running a family steel fabrication business when he took a trip to South Korea in the fall of 2007. He was meeting a friend, who introduced him to another friend in an elevator, no less.

Turns out that friend of a friend had an invention that tickled Kims entrepreneurial instincts. Knowing nothing about cybersecurity at the time, Kim became persuaded that the inventor was on to something. So he wound down his other business pursuits and within a few months pushed ahead with the boot-strapped launch of DataLocker.

Today the company operates out of spacious quarters, with room to grow, in Overland Park, Kansas; it has 50 employees and continues to innovate to meet what has turned out to be an enduring demand for secure portable storage devices. DataLocker supplies platform-independent devices that tie into a central management console. This gives the user the ability to inventory and audit portable storage devices being used out in the field.

I met with Kim at BlackHat 2019 and had a wide ranging discussion with him. For a full drill down, give a listen to the accompanying podcast. Here are excerpts edited for clarity and length:

LW: Why are secure thumb drives still in demand?

Kim: Because of the active threats were seeing today there has been kind of a moving back towards hardware based, cold storage, basically off-line storage. So were finding a lot of organizations now are reincorporating encrypted storage devices into their arsenal of data security tools.

LW: Threats are still out there, essentially.

Kim: Yes, companies want assurance that they have an offline backup, yet they also want to be able to monitor what people are doing with those backups, as well. For instance, with ransomware, one of the best protections is to have a physical offline backup. So were finding a lot of companies going old school and choosing not to put data onto their server, but put it onto actual secure devices, and keeping those offline.

LW: What other kinds of usage patterns are becoming common?

Kim: Weve seen a complete evolution in use cases. When we started off, the primary use case for encrypted hard drives and flash drives was for transport and for backup, as well. Now were finding more companies using them for primary storage, basically having data thats hardware encrypted that they use on a daily basis.

And then theres mobility, because despite the increases in network speeds and wireless speeds, the transfer rates for the volumes of data theyre being transferred and stored these days makes it really impractical to use cloud storage. In many cases youre talking about multiple terabytes of data that need to be transferred from point A to point B.

A lot of organizations find that one of the easiest things to do is to put it on secured hardware, drop in FedEx, and send it off to their lab or wherever it may be. And then when its received, grant them the authorization to access the device.

LW: Sort of like an evidence chain?

Kim: Yes, a chain of custody. Thats one of the main use cases. With our management service, you can track where and when each device is accessed, who accessed it and what data was put onto it. And at the end of the day, if you want to, you can even remotely wipe the device.

LW: Even in our paperless society, actual documents are still important.

Kim: Its forensics evidence. A lot of companies will actually take a take a snapshot, an image, put it on one of our devices and just put it in a safe, literally a physical safe, and use that as evidence. Because with our tracking capability, we can ensure that the data thats stored on the device hasnt been touched since it was put into storage. So they have that whole chain of custody in place for that image; and in todays regulatory world, thats very important.

LW: Right, with Europes GDPR and states like New York and California imposing penalties for violating data privacy rules, thats gotten peoples attention.

Kim: What were finding is the biggest need for many end users is not really the encryption itself, but to be able to prove that their data has been encrypted. We give them that ability to create that audit trail to prove that, Hey, this device was fully encrypted to meet the regulatory standards. Basically its evidence for the organization in case of anything that happens down the road.

LW: Whats new with DataLocker?

Kim: So we started off with encrypted storage devices and weve evolved. Weve just launched a data loss prevention product, called PortBlocker, which locks down USB ports. Our little twist is you can lock down your ports, but you also have the ability to audit those ports and see whats going, with a really crystal clear view of USB storage device usage within your organization.

Weve also re-launched a really cool product called SafeCrypt. Weve created a virtual drive, which functions the exact same way as our encrypted hardware devices. It lets you choose where you want to store your data in encrypted form. It can be in a service like Dropbox or Google Drive or it could even be a local folder or local drive. It creates a drive letter on your desktop where you authenticate, then read or write to that drive letter, and thats it. As soon as it hits that drive to letter, its encrypted.

LW: Do you still imagine theres going to be ongoing demand for portable hardware devices, going forward?

Kim: We do not foresee secure hardware storage devices going away anytime soon. There are billions and billions of USB storage devices out there and the proportion of hardware storage devices that are encrypted keeps increasing.

Acohido

Pulitzer Prize-winning business journalist Byron V. Acohido is dedicated to fostering public awareness about how to make the Internet as private and secure as it ought to be.

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*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from The Last Watchdog authored by bacohido. Read the original post at: https://www.lastwatchdog.com/best-practices-resurgence-of-encrypted-thumb-drives-shows-value-of-offline-backups-in-the-field/

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BEST PRACTICES: Resurgence of encrypted thumb drives shows value of offline backups in the field - Security Boulevard

Encryption software encrypts, and decrypts data stored in the files/folders, hard drives, removable media as well as the data travelling over the internet network through emails. All the encryption software use an algorithm to convert the data into a meaningless cipher text or encrypted text, which can only be converted to meaningful text using key; symmetric key (single key), or asymmetric key (pair of keys). Enterprises use encryption tools to ensure the security of their sensitive data even in the event of a breach.

Encryption software market covers the different types of softwarebased encryption technologies used for protecting the data stored in any computing device (data-at-rest) and the data that is being transmitted over IP (data-in-transit). The report also focuses on the growth prospects, restraints, and encryption software market trends. It is a key driver of the growth of the Encryption Software Market as the number and complexity of data breaches increase and compliance increases. The adoption of new technologies such as mobility, cloud and virtualization has also been the driving force of market growth. Demand for cloud data encryption is also expected to provide significant opportunities for this market.

The evolution of mobile technology and the proliferation of smartphones are some of the fundamental factors driving the growth of the Global Encryption software Market. With the increasing use of mobile devices in many enterprises, the risk of data loss, which encryption software has become essential for secure data transmission, has increased. The deployment of cryptographic software has also improved as the need to protect sensitive data as organizations move rapidly into cloud computing.

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Some of the players operating in theEncryption Software Marketare ACI Worldwide, Inc., BAE Systems, Cyxtera Technologies, Inc., Dell Inc., Distil, Inc., DXC Technology, Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), First Data Corporation, FIS, Fiserv, Inc., FRISS , Guardian Analytics, IBM Corporation, iovation Inc., Kount Inc., LexisNexis, MaxMind, Inc., NICE, Oracle, SAP SE, SAS Institute Inc., Securonix, Inc., SIMILITY , Software AG, ThreatMetrix and Wirecard AG amongst others.

This report provides insights into the various factors that encourage and curb the global encryption software market for cryptographic software. Use industry-leading analytical tools to analyze factors that affect the growth trajectory of the market during the forecast period. The report also examines the impact of the dominant competitive environment and government policy. To provide a comprehensive overview of the competitive landscape of the global cryptographic software market, this report introduces some of the key players operating within it.

This report provides cryptographic software market forecasts for the period from 2017 to 2022. This study helps to understand the impact of various factors, including vendor bargaining power, competitor competitiveness, new entry threats, and threats to threats. Buyer bargaining power, market for bargaining power for growth of encryption software market.

The report provides a full analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governance factors along with market attractiveness per segment. The report also maps the qualitative impacts of various market factors on market sector and geographic impact.

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Encryption Software Market Segmentation:

Market -By Deployment:

Encryption software market By Organization Size:

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North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa

Latin America

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Astonishing Growth in Global encryption software market size was valued at USD 2.98 billion in 2018. It is projected to post a CAGR of 16.8% from 2019...