Privacy and Encryption

While technology and the internet offer amazing power and flexibility, they can also endanger the privacy of you and your family.

When you connect to a website, any data that you send may be visible to other users. This is especially so if you are using an unprotected Wireless (WiFi) network. A malicious person can use a network "sniffer" to see private information, such as passwords and PINs.

Storing confidential information on portable devices such as laptops or USB memory sticks can also be dangerous. If you lose them, or they are stolen, then third parties may well be able to read the information from these devices. Even so called "password protected" technology can be circumvented by a determined hacker.

Encryption is the normal technique to protect the confidentiality of data. Essentially, when your data is encrypted, it is converted into a "scrambled" form using an "encryption key". The scrambled data can only be read by somebody who has the correct "decryption key". The process used to encrypt the data is called the encryption algorithm. One of the most well known algorithms is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This is the standard recommended by the US government and used throughout the world.

The links on the right hand side of this page give further details on the types of technologies and products which you can use to protect your privacy.