What does encryption refer to?

Encryption refers to the conversion of a message from regular text, which is readable by humans, into a coded format that is not easily decipherable without the appropriate decryption key or method. This process ensures that even if the data is intercepted or accessed without authorization, it remains unreadable and secure. Encryption is a vital security measure in protecting sensitive information, particularly in the context of healthcare and compliance with regulations like HIPAA and HITECH.

While protecting data with passwords and storing data securely are important components of data security, they do not specifically address the encoding aspect that encryption provides. Similarly, sharing data over secure networks does not inherently involve encryption, as it might only pertain to the transmission process rather than the transformation of the data itself.