The WannaCry ransomware attack underlines that encryption is an essential layer of modern online security, says LAWtrust solutions director Maeson Maherry.

Protecting personal identity is at the heart of all internet security, says South Africa’s LAWtrust, a specialist online security provider. To find out why, and how this affects you and your business, pop by the LAWtrust stand at this year’s ITWeb Security Summit, at Vodaworld on 17 May

Let’s Encrypt, a “free, automated and open certificate authority”, recently announced that it had issued more than 20 000 000 active certificates by the end of 2016. Many web professionals have embraced Let’s Encrypt technology because it is free and offers automated tools to renew the certificate every 90 days.

Advanced electronic signatures were provided for in the ECT Act (2002), which defines two types of signatures – electronic, and advanced electronic.

Ensuring information security has recently become easier with the newly-forged partnership between South Africa’s LAWtrust, a specialist online security provider, and Nasdaq-listed email data protection company Zix Corporation (ZixCorp) (Nasdaq: ZIXI).

Conducting business in this day and age calls for secure mutual protection. The digital certificate, also known as digital ID, not only encrypts a strong identification, thereby putting an end to phishing and other security threats, it also allows for important documentation to be digitally signed.

Security doesn’t need to be a grudge purchase. With the right technologies, it can reduce costs and create new business opportunities.

In today’s business world, information is the key to success, with a large portion of the worth of a business concentrated in the value of its information. This means that when it comes to information security, there is little room for error, as the consequences of failing to secure your data can be both costly and reputationally disastrous.

There is an inherent conflict between the way the world is evolving and the requirement for security. Digital business is transforming industries and innovation cycles keep on accelerating, which paves the way for disruptive competition. IT and business agility is now critical for success.