The PGP stands for “pretty good privacy”, and that’s what this tool is designed to provide in the encryption stakes. First designed and released in 1991, PGP encryption tech is being constantly updated to make sure it can outsmart the hackers looking to steal your sensitive information. The widely accepted definition of PGP encryption is that it’s an “encryption programme” that uses “cryptographic privacy” for the “authentication of data communication”.
Let’s de-jargon that. It’s a tool used to ‘encrypt’ data and make it unreadable (when it’s either being stored on one device, or sent in a message from one device to another) to anyone other than the person who the data is intended for. This means that even if a cyber-criminal can access the location where the data is held, or access the data when it’s being transmitted, they can’t decipher what it means – so they don’t get any use out of it.
PGP encryption uses two keys. There’s a public key, which the sender/compiler of information can use to make it unreadable. Then there’s a private key, which creates a digital signature that the receiver or anyone else who needs to access the data can use to decrypt and authenticate it, making it human understandable.
Each key is randomly-generated and unique, meaning it’s hard for cyber-criminals to imitate, keeping your info safe. We can show how this works by comparing PGP encryption to actual keys. Say you’ve got two keys and one box with a lock. The first key would be the only one you can use to lock the box. The second key would be the only one you can use to unlock it. You also might be interested to learn that PGP encryption can be used to secure payment files both in transit and at rest, while making them tamper-proof too, allowing it to serve as one of the most effective security tools in your arsenal…”
