What does "data at rest encryption" protect against?

Data at rest encryption is specifically designed to protect stored data from unauthorized access. This form of encryption ensures that, even if an unauthorized party gains physical access to the storage medium – such as hard drives, databases, or cloud storage – they will not be able to read or use the data without the proper decryption keys. The encryption process transforms the data into a format that is not understandable without proper credentials, thereby safeguarding sensitive information from breaches or theft when it is stored.

While unauthorized changes during transmission, unauthorized access to data in transit, and hardware-related losses are important security concerns, they fall outside the primary focus of data at rest encryption. It deals exclusively with securing data that is not actively being transferred or communicated, as opposed to data that is in motion (in transit) or the overall data integrity, which hinges on different security measures.