Guest post by Heather Lowrie, Paperclip Advisor and Content Contributor
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An introduction to the author:
Heather Lowrie is a highly-experienced CISO, keynote speaker, and cybersecurity advocate that serves as an advisor for its SAFE encryption solution. With more than 25 years’ experience across cybersecurity, technology, risk, and resilience, Lowrie has led major digital and security transformations for high-impact public and private sector organizations. Lowrie was recognized by her peers as CISO of the Year at the 2024 SC Awards Europe and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security.
“Heather addresses a key challenge in cybersecurity. How do we share sensitive content to meet transparency and threat concerns? Secure multi-party computation is the only way to reach true data-centric collaboration and transparency without exposing private data or trade secrets.” – Chad Walter, Paperclip CRO
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As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and data breaches increase in scale and severity, traditional security models are no longer enough. Organizations are moving beyond perimeter‑based defenses and shifting their focus to what truly matters: the data itself. The global average cost of a data breach climbed to US $4.88 million in 2024, with healthcare breaches averaging nearly US $9.8 million. IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2024
This move toward data‑centric security represents a fundamental shift in how cybersecurity is understood and applied. Rather than focusing solely on securing systems and networks around data, this approach embeds protection directly into the data, ensuring it remains secure wherever it resides or travels. The result is greater resilience plus enhanced flexibility and trust in how data is shared and used—enabling more secure collaboration and innovation across sectors.
From Data at Rest to Data in Use
Historically, most security strategies have centered on protecting data at rest (when stored) and in transit (when sent across networks). However, a critical gap has remained: what happens when data is actively in use? When data is decrypted for processing or analysis, it becomes vulnerable to exposure, misuse, or insider threats. A new generation of technologies—often described as encryption‑in‑use, searchable encryption, or encryption‑in‑process—keeps data protected even while it is being computed.
The strategy is resonating with budget holders: a 2024 Enterprise Strategy Group survey found that nearly 75 % of organizations now earmark spend specifically for encryption‑in‑use solutions and another 20 % plan to join them by year‑end.
Meanwhile, the broader privacy‑enhancing technologies (PETs) market—which includes encryption‑in‑use and secure computation—is projected to grow from US $3.1 billion in 2024 to US $12.1 billion by 2030 (25 % CAGR), according to Grand View Research PETs forecast.
These advancements make it possible to perform high‑value analytics and computations without ever exposing sensitive information. In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and insurance, encryption‑in‑use is reshaping what’s possible in data protection, fraud prevention, and privacy preservation.
Enabling Secure Multi‑Party Collaboration (SMPC)
In parallel, another capability is gaining momentum: secure multi‑party collaboration (SMPC). This privacy‑preserving model allows multiple organizations to jointly compute over shared data sets without revealing their individual inputs.
Imagine hospitals collaborating on disease trends without ever exchanging patient records, or banks detecting cross‑institutional fraud while maintaining client confidentiality. SMPC makes such scenarios not only feasible but increasingly practical.
What was once seen as too complex or computationally intensive is now becoming a practical reality. This privacy-preserving model offers institutions a powerful new way to generate shared insights while maintaining full control over sensitive data.
Real‑World Use Cases
- Healthcare Privacy: Healthcare research consortia run analytics on encrypted genomic data, accelerating epidemiological discoveries by 30 % without exposing patient identifiers.
- Banking Fraud: Global banks use searchable encryption to correlate transaction patterns, cutting false‑positive fraud alerts by more than 25 % (depending upon strategy and solution implementation) while complying with privacy regulations.
- Financial Services: Wealth management merger and acquisition (M&A) processes require the ability to “escrow” controlled data prior to finalizing the transaction so that due diligence can be run without exposing sensitive data. Reduces M&A transaction time and costs related to due diligence delays and inaccuracies.
Trust and Privacy by Design
The rise of data‑centric security is also a response to growing public and regulatory demands for trust, transparency, and accountability. Individuals expect their data to be handled responsibly; regulators are enforcing stronger protections; and organizations must show that privacy is not just a policy—it is foundational to their infrastructure.
Data‑centric security meets these expectations by enabling the secure use and sharing of data without compromising confidentiality, integrity, or individual rights.
The Future of Digital Trust
As digital systems become more interconnected and threats more sophisticated, the tools for protecting data must evolve. Encryption‑in‑use and secure multi‑party collaboration (SMPC) are quickly becoming essential components of a modern cybersecurity strategy. Industry analysts forecast that the global encryption software market will grow at roughly 14 % CAGR through 2034, driven in part by these privacy‑first capabilities. Global Market Insights encryption software outlook
The future of cybersecurity is not only about defense—it is about enabling innovation with privacy and trust at the core.
Ready to learn more about SMPC and building data‑centric security into your operational strategy? Talk to Paperclip about SAFE® encryption‑in‑use technology today.