SEPTEMBER 2026
Encryption and digital trust: why strong encryption is essential for digital resilience
Encryption is one of the cornerstones of the digital economy. From business communications to cloud services, and from digital identities to critical infrastructure, information security depends on the ability to guarantee authenticity, integrity and data privacy.
In recent months, the international debate on this issue has intensified, not least in light of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning the use of encryption in digital services. At the same time, industry studies and analyses highlight that weakening encryption could pose a systemic risk not only to cybersecurity, but also to trust in the digital ecosystem.
Among these studies, the Encryption at Risk report, published by the i2Coalition, draws attention to the strategic role of strong encryption as an essential element of digital resilience for businesses, citizens and public administrations.
Encryption is a pillar of digital trust
For many years, encryption was regarded primarily as a tool for protecting data. Today, its role is much broader.
Secure protocols, digital certificates and reliable authentication systems underpin numerous digital services and infrastructures, including:
- cloud services
- financial platforms
- digital identities
- business communications
- industrial systems and IoT
- critical national infrastructure
In this context, digital trust depends not only on encrypted connections, but also on the ability to reliably verify the identity of the parties involved, the authenticity of communications and the integrity of the information exchanged.
For this reason, digital certificates, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and trust services are becoming increasingly important for organisations, supporting the security, governance and operational continuity of digital services.
The growing importance of European trust infrastructure
The evolution of the European regulatory framework – from eIDAS 2 to the NIS2 Directive and the DORA Regulation – is further accelerating this transformation.
More and more organisations need to rely on:
- trust services compliant with European standards
- reliable encryption infrastructures
- centralised digital certificate management
- control over the lifecycle of digital and machine identities
In this context, Certification Authorities and European trust service providers, including Actalis, play a central role and are expected to ensure:
- compliance with applicable regulatory requirements
- high security standards
- process transparency
- operational continuity
At the same time, the issue of digital sovereignty is becoming increasingly important for businesses and public administrations operating in regulated environments or managing critical services.
From website security to digital trust management
In recent years, the digital certificate market has evolved significantly.
The widespread adoption of cloud environments, distributed architectures, APIs, IoT devices and machine-to-machine communications now requires a more structured approach to digital identity and certificate management.
Topics such as:
- Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM)
- certificate lifecycle automation
- mutual TLS (mTLS)
- private PKI
- workload identity
- OT and IoT infrastructure protection
are becoming increasingly important for business continuity, security and cyber resilience.
It is no coincidence that many recent European cybersecurity regulations require the adoption of measures based on strong authentication, encryption and secure digital identity management.
Digital trust and resilience: a strategic challenge for organisations
The challenge is not merely to protect data, but to build digital ecosystems that remain trustworthy and sustainable over time.
In a digital landscape shaped by:
- growing cyber threats
- an ever-expanding attack surface
- widespread adoption of artificial intelligence-based solutions
- increasing interconnection between systems and services
digital trust is a key enabler of innovation and competitiveness.
Investing in robust encryption infrastructure, trust services and secure digital identity management strengthens an organisation’s ability to protect digital processes, services and relationships across the value chain.
The role of Actalis
For over twenty years, Actalis has supported businesses, service providers and institutions in securing digital communications through digital certificates, trust services and digital identity management solutions.
As a European Certification Authority and a member of the CA/Browser Forum, Actalis develops solutions for:
- digital communications security
- certificate lifecycle management
- digital identity management
- PKI solutions
- compliance and governance
- digital trust
As encryption plays an increasingly central role in digital resilience, building and maintaining trust is essential to developing secure, interoperable and sustainable digital services.
Find out more about Actalis solutions
Discover how digital certificates, PKI and trust services can help protect your organisation’s communications, manage digital identities and strengthen the resilience of digital services.
Editor’s note
This article draws on industry analyses and trends in cybersecurity and digital trust, including contributions published by organisations such as the i2Coalition.