PGP encryption (Pretty Good Encryption) is a data encryption program used to authenticate and provide cryptographic privacy for data transfers.
PGP encryption is used to secure all forms of data and digital transmissions. It’s capable of encrypting and decrypting:
Text messages
Emails
Computer files
Disk partitions
PGP is a quick-to-implement and cost-effective encryption method.
What’s the Difference Between PGP and OpenPGP
PGP was originally created to protect files posted on Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). This computerized messaging system allowed users to post messages onto a public message board using a dial-up modem. Bulletin Board Systems were used until the mid-nineties. The retirement of this technology led to PGP being sold multiple times before it was finally acquired by Symantec in 2010. OpenPGP (also known as Open-source PGP, was created by one of the PGP’s inventors, Phil Zimmerman, to overcome the patent restrictions preventing PGP’s liberal use. OpenPGP Standard is now the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) approved standard that permits any company to develop and sell PGP-compatible products. GoAnywhere Open is an example of one such solution that offers PGP encryption free of charge. GnuPG is a variant of OpenPGP. It’s also free, but its algorithm differs slightly from PGP. The downside to using this encryption standard over the Symantec-owned PGP is that it doesn’t come with technical support – the bane of all open-source software.
Benefits of PGP Encryption
PGP’s current popularity is due to its original availability as freeware and its long history – originally created in 1990. It’s now the standard form of encryption in finance, healthcare, technology, and other highly regulated industries.
PGP encryption offers the following security benefits:
Reduces the risk of data loss prevention.
Prevents information from being modified during the transfer.
Protects sensitive information from unauthorized access.
Allows the secure sharing of information with multiple parties.
Verifies the authenticity of email senders.
Prevents the recovery of deleted sensitive data.
Ensures email communications are not intercepted.
Protects emails from malicious compromise.
Very blunt learning curve – no training is required to achieve PGP encryption proficiency.
How Does PGP Encryption Work?
To secure sensitive data, PGP combines data compression, password hashing, symmetric-key cryptography, and public-key cryptography.
This feature list is a combination of two file encryption types:
Symmetric key encryption
Public-key encryption
The encryption algorithm can protect data in transit and at rest – especially when coupled with a threat detection solution. PGP assigns users at each end of the communication trajectory with randomly generated public and private keys. For sent messages to be successfully decrypted, they must be authenticated with specific private keys that only intended recipients will have.
The end-to-end process of PGP email security is described below:
Sender A requests to send Recipient B a secure email.
Recipient B generates a random PGP public key and private key.
Recipient B keeps the private key and transmits the public key to Sender A.
Sender A uses the recipient’s public key to encrypt the message before sending it.
Recipient B receives the encrypted message and decrypts it with its retained private key.
Recipient B reads the message.
This process prevents anyone without the correct key pair from decrypting intercepted messages.
