Encryption

Encryption encodes data so it's unreadable without the decryption key. Two moments are distinguished: encryption in transit (data travels encrypted between two points, typically via TLS, the browser padlock) and encryption at rest (stored data is unreadable on disk, typically via AES-256). End-to-end encryption goes further, ensuring even the service operator cannot read the content.

For a local business, the stakes are easy to state: phone numbers, addresses, job details — everything you collect by answering the phone is personal data, which the GDPR obliges you to protect (article 32: security of processing). The question to ask any vendor — telephony, CRM, messaging — fits in three lines: encrypted in transit? At rest? Where is the data hosted, and who can access it?