How does encryption of data in transit protect information?

Encryption of data in transit protects information primarily by preventing unauthorized access and interception while data is being transmitted over a network. When data is encrypted before it is sent, it becomes unreadable to anyone who may capture it during transmission, such as hackers or malicious actors monitoring network traffic. Only authorized parties with the correct decryption key can convert the encrypted data back into a readable format.

This ensures that even if the data is intercepted, it remains confidential and secure, as the intruder cannot decipher it without the proper key. This protective measure is vital as data often travels across various networks, and vulnerabilities exist in these pathways that could be exploited if the data were not encrypted.

In contrast to this, other aspects such as compressing data for faster transmission, ensuring data integrity during storage, or facilitating easy sharing among users do not directly address the security concern of protecting information from being intercepted during transmission. These functions may play a role in data management and accessibility, but they do not provide the same level of security as encryption does in safeguarding the confidentiality and integrity of data in transit.