What Is Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)?
PFS Definition
- Short Definition:
- Extended Definition:
Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS), also known as forward secrecy (FS), is an encryption system that automatically and regularly changes the keys used to both encode and decode information. This process ensures that if the most recent key is ever compromised, only a minimum amount of sensitive data will be exposed.
Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) is an important security feature that is used to protect data sent over the internet. It is a protocol that ensures that the encryption keys used for data transmission are changed periodically, so that manual interception of the communication is much harder.
By changing the encryption keys regularly, PFS ensures that the confidentiality of transmitted data is maintained even if the private key of either party is compromised. In a nutshell, PFS is a security technique that allows two parties to exchange data over the internet without revealing their data to any third-party.
How Does PFS Work?
The system works by using a forwarder, which provides a new set of encryption keys for each session. In other words, even if an attacker manages to intercept one of the communication sessions, they won’t be able to decode or gain access to the other sessions. In that sense, PFS is an effective way to protect data in transit and is highly recommended for any organization that exchanges confidential information over the internet.
Perfect Forward Secrecy helps organizations protect their data from any attack or data breach as the encryption keys are generated dynamically and reset after each session. This makes it much harder for attackers to decode and gain access to the data, thus providing higher levels of security.
PFS and VPN
Perfect forward secrecy protects VPN connections by ensuring that encryption keys used to establish secure connections are changed periodically and never reused. This means that, even if one encryption key is compromised, it would not impact any other data that was sent or received in the past. PFS ensures that the confidentiality of previous communications is not compromised if a future encryption key is ever compromised. As a result, data transmitted over the VPN connection remains encrypted and securely protected.
For more definitions, check out our dedicated Definitions List.