Which security control will secure web applications and protect personal data of EU residents in compliance with GDPR?

Encryption is a critical security control for securing web applications and protecting personal data, particularly in the context of GDPR compliance. Under GDPR, organizations are required to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including protecting personal data against unauthorized access or disclosure.

By encrypting personal data, organizations can ensure that even if data is intercepted or accessed by unauthorized individuals, it remains unintelligible without the corresponding decryption key. This is particularly important for web applications, which often handle sensitive personal information, such as names, addresses, and financial details.

While other security controls, such as authentication and authorization, input validation, and security monitoring, also play vital roles in a comprehensive security strategy, they do not specifically focus on the encryption of data at rest or in transit. Authentication and authorization help ensure that only authorized users can access systems, input validation protects against malicious inputs, and security monitoring helps detect and respond to security incidents. However, encryption is uniquely effective in safeguarding data privacy and ensuring compliance with strict regulations like GDPR, which mandates data protection measures that directly affect the confidentiality and integrity of personal information.