Encryption is a way of scrambling data so that only authorized parties can understand the information. In technical terms, it is the process of converting human-readable plaintext to incomprehensible text, also known as ciphertext. In simpler terms, encryption takes readable data and alters it so that it appears random. Encryption requires the use of a cryptographic key: a set of mathematical values that both the sender and the recipient of an encrypted message agree on.
Network-level Encryption:
Data travelling through communication networks is protected by network encryption. The secure sockets layer (SSL) standard, which is the technology underlying the browser's lock icon and is more formally known as transport layer security (TLS), is the standard method of network data protection for Internet communications and gives users peace of mind thanks to its well-known icon. In addition to protecting their internal networks, corporate backbone networks, and virtual private networks (VPNs) using network level encryption, many security-conscious businesses take a step further.
Storage level Encryption:
Storage encryption is the process of encrypting and decrypting backed-up and archived data on storage media as well as during transmission. Enterprises that employ storage area networks are increasingly favouring storage encryption as an aspect of storage security (SANs).
The fundamental benefit of storage encryption in a SAN is the very inexpensive hardening of the network's core. Each file, folder, or volume of data can utilise a different encryption. Additionally, there are two encryption setups that may be employed, one for data that is in transit and the other for data that is retained and preserved. The decryption keys should be updated along with the cyphers often.