🔐 Encryption

Data-in-Transit, Data-at-Rest, Keys that Never Leak

Encryption protects the confidentiality and integrity of data across apps, networks, and clouds.
SolveForce designs encryption as a system—with non-exportable keys (HSM/KMS), envelope encryption, modern ciphers, and audit-grade evidence—so data stays private, provable, and available without breaking performance.

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✉️ contact@solveforce.com

Where encryption fits in the SolveForce model:
🔑 Keys → Key Management / HSM • 🪪 Trust → PKI
☁️ Platforms → Cloud • 🖧 Fabric → Networks & Data Centers • Connectivity
📊 Evidence → SIEM / SOAR • 🔒 Access → IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA • SASE
🔏 Data controls → DLP

🎯 Outcomes (What “good” encryption delivers)

  • Confidentiality you can prove— keys never leave hardware; logs show who/what/when.
  • Integrity by default— AEAD modes (encrypt and authenticate) prevent silent tamper.
  • Fast rotation without data loss— envelope encryption (root→KEK→DEK) with re-wrap.
  • Low latency— sized KMS/HSM clusters; TLS 1.3 at the edge; local DEK caching.
  • Audit-ready— immutable evidence for PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, CMMC.

🧱 Building Blocks (Spelled Out)

  • Keys & Custody— Root/KEK/DEK hierarchy, non-exportable keys in HSM/KMS, quorum/dual-control. → Key Management / HSM
  • Algorithms
  • Symmetric (bulk)AES-GCM/CTR, ChaCha20-Poly1305 (AEAD).
  • Asymmetric (identity/signing)Ed25519, ECDSA P-256/P-384, RSA-2048/3072.
  • Hashes/HMACSHA-256/384. (Avoid MD5/SHA-1.)
  • Transport— TLS 1.3 first; mTLS where identity must be mutual; IPsec/MACsec for network/Link-layer.
  • At Rest— disk (XTS-AES), DB TDE, object SSE-KMS, field-level (AES-GCM or FPE, as policy).
  • PKI— certificates, ACME automation, JWKS for token signing/rotation. → PKI

🚦 Quick Decision Table

GoalRecommended
API / Web trafficTLS 1.3 (fallback 1.2 only if needed). Ciphers: AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305
Mutual service identitymTLS with short-lived certs; rotate via ACME
Private network hopIPsec (site-to-site) or MACsec (L2)
Disk / volumeXTS-AES (BitLocker/FileVault/LUKS), rotate keys with KMS
DatabaseTDE; KEK in HSM/KMS; DEKs per tablespace
Object storageSSE-KMS with customer-managed keys (CMK)
Field-level protectionAES-GCM (preferred) or FPE for format-sensitive fields
Tokens/IDJWS (Ed25519/ECDSA); publish/rotate via JWKS; use kid headers
Secrets at restVault + KMS wrap; never store raw keys in code/containers

🌐 Data-in-Transit (Modern TLS & friends)

  • TLS 1.3default; deprecate 1.0/1.1; prune weak ciphers.
  • CiphersTLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256 (mobile-friendly).
  • Server policyHSTS, OCSP stapling, ALPN (HTTP/2 & HTTP/3), Session resumption tickets with short lifetimes.
  • mTLSshort-lived client certs (hours/days), ACME automation, CRL/OCSP for revocation.
  • IPsec(site-to-site): IKEv2, PFS, AES-GCM; pair with SD-WAN policy. → SD-WAN
  • MACsec(L2): encrypt switch-to-switch or server uplinks in hostile domains/cages.
  • Cloud on-rampsuse Direct Connect/ExpressRoute/Interconnect for deterministic paths; TLS still applies end-to-end. → Direct Connect

Don’t: mix compression with encryption on the wire (CRIME/BREACH risks).

💾 Data-at-Rest (Disk, DB, Object, Field)

  • Disks/VolumesXTS-AES (BitLocker/FileVault/LUKS). Keys in KMS; rotate on schedule and events.
  • DatabasesTDE; master key in HSM/KMS, DEKs per tablespace; use re-wrap on KEK rotation.
  • Object StorageSSE-KMS/SSE-C; per-bucket/object keys with tags & lifecycle.
  • Field-levelAES-GCM preferred; FPE (Format-Preserving Encryption) only when schema truly requires.
  • Tokenization vs EncryptionFor PAN/PII that must retain format without revealing data, tokenize upstream and store surrogates. → DLP

🧠 Envelope Encryption (Rotate without re-encrypting data)

1) App gets a DEK (data key) to encrypt content.
2) DEK is wrapped by a KEK in HSM/KMS and stored alongside ciphertext.
3) Rotate KEK → re-wrap DEKs (fast).
4) Rotate DEK → new data uses new DEK; legacy re-encrypt on schedule.
5) Quorum/dual-control required for destructive steps.
→ Details: Key Management / HSM

🔐 JWT / Tokens / Signing (Don’t roll your own)

  • JWS for authenticityEd25519 or ECDSA P-256/384; RSA-2048/3072 if legacy.
  • JWKSendpoint for public keys; rotate with kid. Publish new keys before retiring old.
  • JWEonly when confidentiality also needed; otherwise sign (JWS) and encrypt channel (TLS).
  • Short-lived tokens, refresh with narrow scope; revoke on incident.
    → Trust fabric: PKI • IAM / SSO / MFA

🧩 Integration Patterns

  • KMS/HSM first — apps never see raw KEKs; use KMS “data key” API; cache DEKs with TTL. → Key Management / HSM
  • Vault for app secrets; auto-rotate; short TTL for tokens/creds.
  • NAC/SD-WAN/SASE — encrypt links (IPsec/MACsec), steer paths, enforce posture. → SASE
  • DLP + Encryption — enforce encryption for sensitive flows/objects; watermark read-only exports. → DLP
  • SIEM/SOAR — log key ops, TLS events, failures; playbooks for disable/rekey/rotate on incident. → SIEM / SOAR

🧪 Hardening & Pitfalls (Field Notes)

  • Use AEAD(AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305) — encryption and integrity together.
  • Never reuse nonces/IVs; generate with secure RNG; unique per (key, message).
  • Avoid home-grown crypto; rely on vetted libraries/HSM/KMS SDKs.
  • KDFs for passwordsArgon2id or PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 (high iteration, per-user salt).
  • Padding oraclesprefer AEAD; if CBC must be used, implement constant-time checks & MAC-then-encrypt patterns.
  • Don’t mix compression + encryptionfor secrets; sanitize before encrypting.
  • Certificatesautomate ACME; pin with care (operationally dangerous without rotation plan).

📐 SLO Guardrails (Experience you can measure)

Metric (p95)TargetNotes
TLS handshake (regional)≤ 50–150 msEdge PoPs, session resumption enabled
mTLS mutual auth≤ 100–250 msCert chain size & OCSP stapling matter
KMS encrypt/decrypt≤ 10–30 msRegional KMS, DEK caching
JWT sign/verify≤ 20–50 msHSM-backed key ops
Service availability≥ 99.99%HA KMS/HSM, multi-region optional
Rotation (KEK)≤ 24–72 hEnvelope re-wrap only

Expose crypto SLOs on dashboards; alert on lag, error rate, and tamper events. → SIEM / SOAR

📜 Compliance Mapping (Examples)

  • PCI DSS 3.5/3.6— key protection, rotation, split knowledge & dual control.
  • HIPAA 164.312(a)(2)(iv)— encryption of ePHI; integrity and access controls.
  • ISO/IEC 27001/27002— cryptographic policy, key management, logging.
  • NIST SP 800-57 / 800-52 / 800-53 (SC-12/SC-13)— key lifecycles, TLS profiles, crypto services.
  • FedRAMP— KMS/HSM posture, key residency, audit retention.

Evidence streams to SIEM; playbooks in SOAR handle disable/rotate/restore.

🛠️ Implementation Blueprint (No-Surprise Rollout)

  1. Inventory & classify data (where it lives, flows, exits).
  2. Select custody — HSM/KMS platforms, FIPS level, HA/DR regions. → Key Management / HSM
  3. Design hierarchy — Root in HSM; KEKs per service/tenant/env; DEKs per dataset/object.
  4. Transport policy — TLS 1.3, mTLS where needed; IPsec/MACsec for hops.
  5. At-rest controls — TDE, SSE-KMS, field-level; tokenization for PAN/PII. → DLP
  6. PKI & tokens — ACME automation; JWKS rotation; short-lived tokens. → PKI • IAM / SSO / MFA
  7. Observability — crypto SLOs; KMS/HSM tamper alerts; TLS error maps. → SIEM / SOAR
  8. Compliance packs — policy docs, SOPs, rotation calendar, evidence exports.
  9. Game days — KEK rotation, disable/restore drills, region failover.

✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist

🔑 HSM/KMS choices, regions, FIPS level, HA/DR plan.
📦 Data classes & flows; tokenization vs field encryption decisions.
🧰 Library/SDK standards (approved crypto libs, AEAD default).
🪪 PKI plan (issuance/rotation), JWKS strategy, short-lived tokens.
🔐 Network posture (IPsec/MACsec needs), TLS policy/cipher list.
📊 SIEM dashboards (crypto SLOs), SOAR runbooks (disable/rotate/restore).
🧾 Compliance targets and evidence format.

🔄 Where Encryption Fits (Recursive View)

1) Grammar — encrypted signals ride Connectivity & the Networks & Data Centers fabric.
2) Syntax — Cloud patterns (TDE, SSE-KMS, mTLS) shape delivery.
3) Semantics — Cybersecurity preserves truth; encryption proves confidentiality/integrity.
4) Pragmatics — SolveForce AI flags crypto anomalies, failed handshakes, and hot keys.
5) Foundation — consistent terms via Primacy of Language.
6) Map — indexed in the SolveForce Codex & Knowledge Hub.

📞 Design Encryption That’s Fast, Safe & Auditable

📞 (888) 765-8301
✉️ contact@solveforce.com

Related pages:
Key Management / HSM • PKI • IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA • SASE • DLP • Cloud • Networks & Data Centers • Direct Connect • SIEM / SOAR • Cybersecurity • Knowledge Hub

Key terms in plain language

Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.

Latency

The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.

SD-WAN

Software-defined wide area networking. It manages multiple connections and chooses paths based on application needs, performance, and policy to improve resilience and control.

Cybersecurity

The practices and controls used to protect identities, devices, networks, applications, and data from unauthorized access, disruption, or manipulation.

SASE

Secure Access Service Edge combines networking and security capabilities in a cloud-delivered architecture so users and locations can receive consistent policy wherever they connect.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

The systems and policies that determine who a user is, what resources they may access, and how that access is authenticated and reviewed.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

A login control requiring more than one form of verification, such as a password plus an authenticator app, security key, or biometric factor.

API

An application programming interface is a defined way for software systems to exchange data or request functions from one another.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Software designed to perform tasks involving prediction, classification, generation, reasoning, or decision support. Business use still requires clear data, governance, security, and human accountability.