If you had to both encrypt and compress data during transmission, which would you do first and why? (2024)

FAQs

If you had to both encrypt and compress data during transmission, which would you do first and why? ›

By compressing the data first, you can reduce the size of the data and then encrypt it without the risk of losing any important information during the encryption process.

The answer depends on the specific scenario, but generally speaking, compressing before encrypting can offer better performance and security benefits. This is because compression can reduce the size and entropy of the data, making it easier to encrypt and harder to crack.

Example: “When transmitting data, I would first compress it and then encrypt it. The reason I would do it in this order is that once I've encrypted the data, it would be difficult to determine if I compressed it properly.”

Compress and then encrypt is better. Data compression removes redundant character strings in a file. So the compressed file has a more uniform distribution of characters. This also provides shorter plaintext and ciphertext, which reduces the time spent encrypting, decrypting and transmiting the file.

So you should compress data first, then encrypt the result, not the other way round. This is what is done in, e.g., the OpenPGP format. Compress first. If you encrypt then your data turns into (essentially) a stream of random bits.

If you had to both encrypt and compress data during transmission, it would be best to compress the data first and then encrypt it.

Using both compression and encryption

If you are uploading files that are both compressed and encrypted, the files must be compressed first, then encrypted. If files are encrypted and then compressed, the file processing will fail.

You can mount a file system so that all NFS traffic is encrypted in transit using Transport Layer Security 1.2 (TLS) with an industry-standard AES-256 cipher. TLS is a set of industry-standard cryptographic protocols used for encrypting information that is exchanged over the network.

The main advantages of compression are reductions in storage hardware, data transmission time, and communication bandwidth. This can result in significant cost savings. Compressed files require significantly less storage capacity than uncompressed files, meaning a significant decrease in expenses for storage.

At which point should you encrypt data? ›

Your data should be encrypted at all times while it isn't in use, meaning whenever it is stored or sent from one place to another.

Sensitive data uploaded to the cloud should be encrypted on premises and backed up prior to its transfer to the cloud service. This ensures data will always be available and secure even if the account or the cloud storage provider is compromised.

Symmetric encryption, also known as a shared key or private key algorithm, uses the same key for encryption and decryption. Symmetric key ciphers are considered less expensive to produce and do not take as much computing power to encrypt and decrypt, meaning there is less of delay in decoding the data.

Large email attachments cost the recipient time, space, and money. Be considerate and compress any attachments you send with your email. Documents created by word processors such as Microsoft Word can take up space on your computer or handheld device. It takes just seconds to compress, stuff, or zip them.

Data can be intercepted and compromised as it travels across the network where it is out of a user's direct control. For this reason, data should be encrypted when in transit. Encryption makes the data unreadable if it falls into the hands of unauthorized users.

The presentation layer is responsible for translation, encryption, and compression of data. Two communicating devices communicating may be using different encoding methods, so layer 6 is responsible for translating incoming data into a syntax that the application layer of the receiving device can understand.

When a user encrypts plaintext with PGP, PGP first compresses the plaintext. Data compression saves modem transmission time and disk space and, more importantly, strengthens cryptographic security. Most cryptanalysis techniques exploit patterns found in the plaintext to crack the cipher.

So, if you compress, then resize, the sequence of steps is compress->uncompress->resize->compress. If you are using a "lossless" compressed image format, like PNG, you're wasting time on the initial two steps because nothing will change, and you might as well just resize, then compress.

As a default, PGP compresses the message after applying the signature but before encryption. This has the benefit of saving space both for e-mail transmission and for file storage. The placement of the compression algorithm, indicated by Z for compression and Z−1 for decompression in figure 12.2 is critical: 1.

In encryption the sender sends the data once it is encrypted. In decryption, the receiver decodes the data once it is received.