SharePoint: Enabling data encryption for data at rest and in transit

SharePoint is a popular collaboration platform used by organizations to store and manage their data. It's important to keep this data secure, especially when it's stored at rest. Encrypting data at rest in SharePoint is an effective way to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. In this guide, we'll discuss how to encrypt data at rest in SharePoint.

Step 1: Determine the Data That Needs to Be Encrypted

The first step is to identify the data that needs to be encrypted. This includes any sensitive or confidential information that should not be accessed by unauthorized users. Once you have identified this data, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Enable Encryption in SharePoint

SharePoint provides built-in encryption features that allow you to encrypt data at rest. To enable encryption in SharePoint, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your SharePoint site as an administrator.
2. Navigate to the "Site Settings" page.
3. Click on "Site Collection Features."
4. Find "Information Rights Management" and click "Activate" to turn it on.

Step 3: Set Up Key Management

Once you have enabled encryption in SharePoint, you need to set up key management. This is where you will store the keys used to encrypt and decrypt the data. There are several options for key management, including using a third-party key management system or using SharePoint's built-in key management system.

To set up key management in SharePoint, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your SharePoint site as an administrator.
2. Navigate to the "Site Settings" page.
3. Click on "Information Rights Management."
4. Select "Use the default RMS server specified in Active Directory" or "Use a specified RMS server" depending on your organization's policies.
5. Click "OK" to save your changes.

Step 4: Encrypt Your Data

Now that you have enabled encryption and set up key management, you can start encrypting your data. To encrypt data in SharePoint, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the library or list that contains the data you want to encrypt.
2. Click on the "Library" or "List" tab.
3. Click on "Library Settings" or "List Settings."
4. Click on "Advanced settings."
5. Select "Yes" under "Require content approval for submitted items."
6. Save your changes.

Step 5: Test Your Encryption

To ensure that your data is properly encrypted, you should test it. To do this, try accessing the encrypted data from a user account that does not have permission to access it. If the encryption is working properly, the user should not be able to access the data.

In conclusion, encrypting data at rest in SharePoint is an essential step in keeping your organization's sensitive information secure. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can enable encryption in SharePoint, set up key management, encrypt your data, and test your encryption to ensure that your data is properly protected.

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