Encryption is the pillar of any data security strategy. Prompted by a compelling need to protect intellectual property and standard practices dictated by regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Europe’s General Data Protection Rule (GDPR), a lack of data encryption leaves every organization vulnerable to data theft, data breach, and a crippling loss of brand trust. PGP encryption automation can solve that problem.
Why is PGP Encryption Automation Important
No organization is immune to mistakes leading to a failure to encrypt. One large business consulting firm was recently found to have left 4TB of data exposed and unencrypted due to a configuration error. And the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just settled a case with a medical services provider after the firm was found to have left 15 million unencrypted electronic health records exposed. These incidents are just two examples of the risks associated with lack of consistent, reliable PGP encryption automation. Other issues that may arise include:
- A compliance audit asks for encryption logs you can’t produce
- A trading partner mandates key rotation, and your scripts have no rotation capability
- Failed encryption goes undetected and useless, corrupted data is sent to your information supply chain
The imperative for ensuring consistent file encryption is evident: much of today’s essential business functions are transacted digitally. Whether it is internally across geographically distributed campuses and remote and mobile employees; with a growing network of partners, vendors, service providers, and governmental agencies; or with customers who may be anywhere on the globe, your success depends on the reliable, timely, and secure delivery of data files.
The challenge for many organizations is that implementing effective encryption management can be difficult, requiring expensive tools and error-prone manual processes. This can present security and compliance problems for organizations with extensive information supply chains and that send and receive thousands of data files throughout a typical day. The solution is to adopt a means for automating PGP file encryption so that every file that is sent or received by the organization is protected. But how can an enterprise do this?
What is PGP Encryption and How do I Automate It?
PGP stands for Pretty Good Privacy. It is a proven open-source, 2,048-bit encryption standard trusted by millions of users since it was first introduced in 1991, making it an ideal choice for file encryption. PGP can also refer to OpenPGP, which is compatible with PGP. OpenPGP is the standard as defined by RFC 4880, while PGP is trademarked. You might also encounter GPG, or GNU Privacy Guard, which is another open-source implementation of the PGP protocol and offers a command line interface to perform PGP encryption, decryption, signing, verifying, and key management operations. A lack of PGP automation can result in several issues detrimental to security and operational efficiency:
- File volumes growing beyond what staff or legacy scripts can handle
- Overnight batch jobs dependent on one person’s knowledge
- A key holder leaves and nobody else knows the passphrase
- No audit trail showing who encrypted what and when
- GPG scripts failing silently
PGP encryption automation, including key management, can be accomplished using command-line scripts that monitor for certain file activities that prompt encryption, but this approach becomes increasingly onerous as an organization’s needs expand. PGP automation orchestration software can also be used, but such tools can be expensive and, depending on which product you use, difficult to apply consistently to file transfers.
The Best Way to Automate PGP Encryption
The best approach for automating PGP encryption, however, is with a managed file transfer (MFT) solution that has PGP automation built into its workflows. An MFT solution is already the nerve center of an organization’s file dataflows and so using it as the means of ensuring a file is protected every time it is sent, received, archived, or retrieved, makes perfect sense.
Using an MFT solution as your organization’s de facto PGP encryption software solves the problem of streamlining the process of encrypting every file it touches. And because PGP automation takes decisions and responsibility for encryption out of the hands of individuals, the risk of human error is minimized. That’s important because mistakes are often at the root of security incidents and, according to the annual Ponemon Institute/IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, the primary cause of 26% of all data breaches.
Integrating PGP automation and encryption management into a managed file transfer solution’s workflow ensures that all files are encrypted before they exit your IT estate. It is vital that the encryption process happens prior to any files being exposed to the public-facing internet. Unfortunately, some vendors put their administrative interfaces on the web, leaving them vulnerable to cybercriminals and exposing sensitive data to unauthorized parties.
Diplomat MFT from Coviant Software is different. Designed from the start as a managed file transfer workflow engine with a secure architecture, Diplomat MFT uses our Edge Gateway in an enterprise’s DMZ to handle all file transfers before they enter or exit the network, keeping all files and all data associated with a file transfer secure. Then the files are sent over transport channels protected by the secure file transport protocol (SFTP) to ensure the integrity of all associated communications data.
Simple PGP Automation and a Whole Lot More
And PGP automation is only part of the data protection story. Diplomat MFT also boasts many security features that help you keep data secure, keep your network secure, and satisfy the demands of regulators. These include:
- Multifactor authentication and support for authentication applications
- Access control based on the principle of least privilege
- Flexible Roles & LDAP to ensure permissions are synchronized across the enterprise
- Integrated threat intelligence
- Support for post-quantum cryptographic algorithms
- Authorized recipient/destination confirmation
- Dataflow mapping with one-click report generation
- Process data capture for compliance audit reporting
- Workflow testing to ensure correct processes while in “dry run” mode
- Notifications to communication channels of choice (email, text, Slack, Teams, etc.).
What’s more, Diplomat MFT is the industry’s only MFT solution that offers PGP automation in its web transfer client. That means you can standardize on PGP across your entire information supply chain without imposing cost or support burdens on your smaller partners who may lack the resources or expertise to invest in enterprise-grade MFT.
Contact Us for More Information about PGP Automation
If you are looking for a reliable PGP automation solution or a secure, enterprise-grade managed file transfer solution, why not get both in one trusted and reliable package? Diplomat MFT from Coviant Software is trusted by enterprises around the world. And Diplomat MFT has never been breached in more than 20 years of operation. Contact us with your questions, or to schedule a no-obligation demonstration today.