Hybrid Encryption (AES/RSA) for Secure Storage & Transport

My Approach

I’ve had to move sensitive configs and keys across networks where a simple ZIP password wasn’t going to cut it. That’s when hybrid encryption shines — fast enough for bulk data, strong enough for key exchange, and flexible enough to drop into automation pipelines.

• AES for Data at Rest/Transit: Use AES for bulk encryption — efficient, proven, and supported everywhere.

• RSA for Key Wrapping: Protect AES session keys with RSA so they can be securely transported or stored.

• Integrated Workflows: Automate key generation, wrapping, and exchange within scripts and frameworks, so engineers aren’t handling secrets manually.

• Secure Defaults: Standardize key lengths and ciphers so no one has to guess what “good enough” looks like.

Advancing Further

• Automated Key Rotation: Schedule re-keying so encryption doesn’t become “set and forget.”

• Hardware Integration: Leverage HSMs or TPMs where available for key storage.

• Policy Alignment: Tie encryption settings directly to compliance requirements (FIPS, NIST) so systems pass audits without last-minute scrambles.

Why It Matters

I’ve seen teams underestimate encryption until a penetration test or compliance review exposed the gap. Using AES+RSA as a hybrid model has always been a reliable baseline in my work — strong enough for high-security environments, simple enough to integrate anywhere. By baking it into automation, encryption becomes invisible but always present, which is exactly how it should be.