Firewalls

Click this link to watch a video on Firewalls

Data is usually split into ‘packets’ before it is sent across a network.  This means that something like an image file is not sent as one single file. The image data is split into lots of different packets that can be reassembled to create the image file once they are received

Firewalls are used to check data packets as they are sent to or received from a system or network.

• A firewall can be used to:
  • check that incoming packets meet specific rules before being allowed in
  • set rules about which stations on a network can send or receive packets

Firewalls protect against unauthorised access to a computer system by those who might want to steal data, cause malicious harm or take control of the system. 

Encryption

Encryption is a security measure used to try to prevent unauthorised access to data during transmission from one system or network to another

Encryption is designed to scramble data so that if an unauthorised person or organisation manage to steal data packets, they will be unable to understand the content

Keys 

• A public key is used to encrypt the data, thus when it is transmitted over the internet it is secure.
• A private key is used to decrypt the data

Click this link to watch a video on Encryption