Data breaches are a relentless, escalating threat, costing companies millions and eroding trust worldwide. Traditional encryption methods are riddled with gaps and vulnerabilities (as we discussed in our previous blog), leaving organizations scrambling to understand and deploy alternative and complex data protection methods, such as trusted execution environments (TEEs) and confidential computing, which also have security gaps. Until businesses tackle the core issue—achieving true, end-to-end protection for data throughout its lifecycle—they’ll remain trapped in a cycle of breaches and costly damage control.

The answer? Continuous encryption—an unbroken shield that protects data in every state and stage. But reaching this level of security is a whole other challenge. Continuous encryption means safeguarding data when it’s at rest, in use, in transit, and every point in between. This is where Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) steps in, promising a way to keep data encrypted continuously. For nearly four decades, companies have theorized and experimented to achieve a performant FHE solution, and until now, have not been successful. Today, the dream is finally a reality.

DataKrypto has cracked the code, delivering the first FHE solution that makes continuous encryption not just a theory but a real solution—minus the usual challenges of speed and scalability. DataKrypto’s cutting-edge FHE technology shatters the barriers that have held back the industry, finally making continuous encryption attainable.

In this blog, we’ll break down what FHE is, why it hasn’t yet been adopted broadly, and how DataKrypto stands out as the game-changer you’ve been waiting for.

The Shift from Fragmented to Continuous Encryption

As detailed in our last post, “Beware the Blind Spots: How Encryption Gaps Weaken Organizational Security,” traditional encryption methods leave data exposed and unencrypted during operations and data transitions. Sophisticated attackers exploit these vulnerabilities, especially in cloud and data-sharing environments, exposing organizations to costly breaches.

Achieving true end-to-end data protection requires continuous encryption—ensuring sensitive information is shielded in every state: at rest, in transit, in use, and everywhere in between. Continuous encryption neutralizes the impact of breaches because it renders data useless, even if it falls into the hands of malicious parties.

FHE: The Holy Grail of Data Security—Dream or Reality?

Many tout FHE as the ultimate answer to continuous encryption. It is the dream cryptographic technique because it promises to transform data security, keeping information encrypted even during processing. Think of it this way: continuous encryption is the what (to achieve); FHE is the how (it’s achieved).

But does FHE live up to the hype?

In theory, FHE is unbeatable:

• It keeps data encrypted throughout the entire computation process.
• It enables processing of sensitive data without ever exposing it in plaintext.
• It allows untrusted parties to handle encrypted data without revealing any sensitive details.
• It eliminates the need for a hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), a core component of confidential computing.
• It guards against software and hardware-based attacks.

Yet, FHE, in previous iterations, has had its share of formidable challenges. Here’s where reality has fallen short.

FHE’s Previous Pain Points

Performance Bottlenecks: FHE historically was computationally demanding—making it too slow to scale effectively in demanding environments. Operations on encrypted data were thousands to millions of times slower than plaintext processing, requiring enormous computational power. It was simply impractical for applications that demand speed and efficiency.

Data Expansion Nightmare: Many FHE solutions significantly inflated data size, with a single piece of plaintext ballooning 100 to 1,000 times when encrypted. This not only drove up storage costs but also made data transfer sluggish and bandwidth-intensive.

Scalability Issues: Handling large datasets or performing complex computations using FHE was challenging due to the combination of high computational overhead and large ciphertext sizes. An inability to scale FHE for big data analytics or machine learning tasks made previous solutions impractical for large-scale use.

Cost-prohibitive: The combined performance bottlenecks, high power consumption, and inflated data issues (and the resulting need for more storage) characteristic of recent FHE offerings made these solutions quite expensive to deploy and run. When organizations are continuously faced with tightening budgets and a need to do more with less, the costs associated with FHE have made it a tough sell.

Incompatibility Issues: Previous FHE solutions were notoriously incompatible with existing software and were highly latent, making real-time processing a pipe dream.

DataKrypto’s FHE: A Game-Changer in Continuous Encryption

DataKrypto redefines FHE by overcoming the pitfalls that have stymied others, making continuous encryption not just possible but practical. Our solution is the first to achieve important breakthroughs, such as:

Blazing Speed: DataKrypto’s FHE operates at virtually the same speed as plaintext—yes, you read that right. We’re talking nanoseconds, not hours or days, making it ideal for real-time applications.

No Data Expansion: Unlike traditional FHE, our solution doesn’t balloon the data size, ensuring smooth, efficient processing and saving you storage and bandwidth costs.

Industry-Certified Security: We offer the only FHE product with FIPS 140-2 certification, giving you peace of mind and assurance that our solution meets the highest security standards.

With DataKrypto, the promise of continuous encryption is no longer a distant dream. We’ve broken the barriers to making FHE a viable solution to today’s—and tomorrow’s—costly information security problems. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s ready to revolutionize how you protect your most valuable asset: your data.

In our next post, we’ll take a look at how our FHE compares—and outperforms—alternative approaches like hardware accelerators and confidential computing.

Ready to join us on the journey to continuous encryption? Contact us today to learn more about how DataKrypto can help you achieve continuous encryption and close your data security gaps.