Are your notes truly private? Understanding encryption

The privacy and security of our personal information are more important than ever. As we rely on technology to store and manage our notes, documents, and other sensitive data, that information is protected and a critical concern.

What is encryption?

Encryption is the process of converting plaintext (readable data) into ciphertext (encoded data) using an algorithm or mathematical formula. This encoded data can only be decrypted and read by someone with the proper decryption key. The strength of encryption lies in the complexity of the algorithm used and the length of the encryption key.

There are two main types of encryption:

1. Symmetric and asymmetric.
2. Symmetric encryption

They are same key for both encrypting and decrypting data, while asymmetric encryption (also known as public-key encryption) uses two separate but mathematically linked keys – a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.

Importance of encryption for note privacy

To keep our digital notes private, encryption plays a vital role. Without proper encryption, our notes could potentially be accessed and read by unauthorized parties, compromising the confidentiality of our personal and professional information. Examples of a safenote?  Imagine a scenario where you store sensitive notes, such as financial records, personal journals, or business plans, on a cloud storage service. Without encryption, those notes would be transmitted and stored in plaintext, making them vulnerable to interception and unauthorized access by hackers, cybercriminals, or even the cloud service provider itself. Encryption helps mitigate these risks by scrambling the data before it leaves your device, ensuring that even if the notes are intercepted during transmission or accessed by an unauthorized party, the contents will be indecipherable without the proper decryption key.

Encryption algorithms and key lengths

Encryption algorithms are mathematical formulas that govern how data is encoded and decoded. Some commonly used encryption algorithms include:

1. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)- A symmetric encryption algorithm widely used for securing data, with key lengths of 128, 192, or 256 bits.
2. RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman)- One of the most popular asymmetric encryption algorithms, using two keys (public and private) for encryption and decryption.
3. Blowfish– A symmetric encryption algorithm designed to be fast and secure, with variable key lengths up to 448 bits.

Gold standard for note privacy

While encryption is essential for protecting the privacy of our digital notes, not all encryption methods are created equal. The gold standard for note privacy is end-to-end encryption (E2EE).

End-to-end encryption ensures that data is encrypted on the user’s device before being transmitted, and remains encrypted until it reaches the intended recipient’s device, where it is decrypted. This means that the data is never exposed in plaintext form during transmission or storage, offering the highest level of protection against unauthorized access.

In the context of note-taking apps and services, end-to-end encryption ensures that your notes are encrypted on your device before being sent to the service provider’s servers. The service provider never has access to the decryption keys, so even if their servers are compromised, your notes will remain indecipherable to attackers. This contrasts with traditional encryption methods, where data may be encrypted during transmission but is decrypted and stored in plaintext on the service provider’s servers. In such cases, the service provider has access to the decryption keys, introducing potential vulnerabilities and reducing the overall privacy and security of your notes.