week 8

8.6 Encryption

Encryption converts data into an unreadable format that can only be decoded with the correct key.

 

Encryption Type

Description and Example

Data at Rest

Encrypting database files on disk. E.g., MySQL Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) — if the server's hard disk is stolen, data remains unreadable.

Data in Transit

Encrypting data as it moves between client and server. E.g., SSL/TLS encryption for bank API connections.

Column-Level Encryption

Encrypting specific sensitive columns. E.g., encrypting BVN, credit card numbers, passwords using AES-256.

Password Hashing

Passwords are never stored in plain text. A one-way hash (bcrypt, SHA-256) is stored instead. Even if the DB is stolen, passwords cannot be reversed.