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encrypted at rest

Encrypted at rest means being in a state in which stored data is kept in encrypted form while it is not being transmitted or actively processed.

In plain English

This describes data that is sitting in storage rather than moving or being used. In that stored state, the data is kept in an unreadable coded form. The focus is its condition during storage.

In context

Here, it states that the data is kept in encrypted form during storage, rather than while it is being sent or actively used.

Situation
Understanding encryption, privacy, data-sharing, and secure-connection labels
What it communicates
states protection during storage

Meaning limits

By itself, this term does not say anything about the data when it is being transmitted or actively processed.

Examples

“On the backup drive, the invoices stay encrypted at rest until staff open a file to work on it.”

Core meaning

“Once a team saves a report, it remains encrypted at rest in storage.”

In context