What is PGP encryption, and how does it work?

What is PGP encryption, and how does it work?

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption protects your enterprise files both in motion and at rest and keeps sensitive data secure beyond the transfer path. It delivers lasting protection with fast performance, strong key exchange and broad compatibility to help you stay compliant and safeguard critical information. Learn more about what PGP encryption is, how it works and how your enterprise organization can leverage PGP encryption throughout its file transfer process.

Enterprises often need to move sensitive information between teams, systems and external partners. These files may include payroll data, financial statements, patient charts or compliance reports. Each file can pose a risk if it is viewed without permission or changed in transit. Network protocols like transport layer security (TLS) protect the path that data takes. However, TLS doesn’t protect the file once it reaches its destination. That is why many organizations use PGP for file encryption.

PGP first appeared in the early 1990s and is still used today to keep data safe both during transfer and while stored. Large organizations rely on it to meet compliance mandates and support daily operations. PGP helps keep files sealed, trackable and controlled, and is a trusted tool in enterprise file transfer security.

Why PGP file encryption is important in MFT solutions

Managed file transfer (MFT) platforms move files on fixed schedules, and many of those files carry regulated data. Financial institutions exchange batch payments and trading reports. Healthcare providers send lab results and patient forms. Insurance companies transfer claims and documentation. In these cases, TLS alone isn’t enough. Once a file reaches its destination, TLS stops, but PGP stays with the file. That persistence gives IT and compliance teams confidence. Even if the file gets copied or stored later, it stays encrypted. Your enterprise organization can use PGP to meet audit requirements, simplify partner workflows and ensure that protection doesn’t rely on the transport channel alone.

What is PGP file encryption?

Most IT administrators don’t think about encryption after the fact; instead, it has to be baked into the process. Organizations leverage PGP because it’s designed for end-to-end encryption. In enterprises, PGP isn’t just used once or twice a week. It’s triggered automatically and often behind the scenes because of how well it protects data.

PGP file encryption uses two layers of protection. First, PGP scrambles the file with a one-time key using symmetric encryption. Then it wraps that key with the recipient’s public key, which means only someone holding the right private key can unlock it. Senders can also add a digital signature, which proves where the file came from and whether it’s been altered. Because PGP follows the OpenPGP standard, any tool that supports that format can process the file. That makes it easier for your organization’s teams to share data across platforms, regions and third-party systems — all while keeping security intact.

PGP and OpenPGP standards

OpenPGP is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard that spells out packet layouts, cipher suites and how signatures are encoded using PGP. GnuPG is the common open‑source engine, but MFT vendors, like JSCAPE by Redwood, embed OpenPGP libraries so partners can trade files without glue scripts. Your enterprise organization can stay inside the required specifications and swap encryption software or vendors later without re‑encrypting years of archives.

Symmetric and asymmetric encryption

Symmetric encryption ciphers, such as AES‑256, use one key both ways and process large files quickly. Asymmetric schemes, such as RSA or elliptic‑curve keys, come in pairs and run slower, but they solve the PGP key exchange problem. PGP takes a different approach: it blends them. PGP locks the data with a throwaway symmetric key and then encrypts that small key for the intended recipient using their public key. With PGP file encryption, you maintain speed and keep the session key secret.

Typical PGP-encrypted file

Open a .pgp file, and you’ll find an encrypted data packet, one or more packets holding the wrapped session key (one for each recipient), optional signature packets and metadata, like algorithm choices, creation times and key fingerprints. Everything except the sender’s private key and its passphrase sit inside, so the file can move, rest or be re-sent without losing its security context.

How PGP file encryption works

PGP runs through a fixed sequence that’s easy to automate and audit. At a high level, you prepare keys, protect the payload and then validate and recover it on the other side. The PGP process tends to include the same set of steps when it encrypts and decrypts files.

Step-by-step overview

These are generally the steps for a PGP file encryption and decryption process:

• Generate a key pair, lock down the private key with a passphrase or HSM and share the public key with partners or a keyserver
• Create a fresh symmetric session key
• Encrypt the file with that session key
• Encrypt the session key with each recipient’s public key (one wrap per recipient)
• Sign a digest of the data with your private key to prove the origin and detect data tampering (this step is sometimes optional)
• When received, the partner’s tool selects the correct private key, unwraps the session key, verifies the signature and decrypts the file

This deterministic flow is simple to script and monitor, which is why it’s suitable for batch jobs and headless file transfers.

Why PGP file encryption is still trusted

Enterprise organizations across various industries still leverage PGP file encryption in their modern file transfer workflows because it includes:

• Broad support across operating systems, languages and MFT solutions, which shortens partner onboarding and reduces custom coding
• Decades of academic scrutiny and production use that have exposed flaws early and driven continuous hardening
• Modern, well‑vetted encryption algorithms — AES for bulk data and RSA or ECC for key wrapping — with weak options pruned by recent OpenPGP revisions
• One artifact that delivers confidentiality, integrity and authenticity

These benefits make PGP a low‑risk, high‑compatibility choice for enterprises when files must stay protected long after they leave the transport layer.

PGP vs. other encryption methods

Different protocols solve different problems. PGP earns its place in batch transfers and hands‑off automation, where files move on schedules, hit queues or sit in retries and still need to stay sealed. When compared to PGP, other encryption methods only guard the tunnel, live inside mail clients or lean on shared passwords.

TLS/SSL (in-transit)

TLS protects data while it crosses the network. Once the socket closes or a retry cache stores the file, you lose that shield unless another layer steps in. PGP covers that gap by traveling with the payload.

S/MIME

S/MIME allows for encrypted emails and attachments, but it lives inside mail clients and gateways. Automated batch jobs, ETL flows and headless services rarely fit that model. PGP is easier to script and schedule outside the mail stack.

ZIP with password

Password‑protected ZIP archives lean on weak key derivation and human‑managed secrets. Sharing passwords out‑of‑band can be messy, and auditors rarely accept it for sensitive data. PGP gives you stronger public-key cryptography and cleaner encryption key exchange.

Common use cases for PGP file encryption

PGP shows up wherever regulated or high-value data moves between organizations on a schedule. Nightly exports, partner feeds and long-term archives are typical patterns.

Some ways that different industries use PGP file encryption are:

• Data and analytics teams: Analysts generate BI extracts and database dumps, encrypt them, deliver them to partners and stage the same ciphertext in object storage for reuse.
• Financial services: Treasury and payments teams encrypt daily ACH/BAI2 files, sign card‑settlement reports then push SWIFT messages to banks and processors.
• Healthcare: Billing and compliance staff wrap claims, EOBs and lab results in PGP and transmit them nightly to clearinghouses and analytics vendors.
• Manufacturing and supply chain: Engineering and procurement teams encrypt CAD/BOM updates, forecast files and quality reports before they share them with suppliers under export or IP rules.

Across these teams, even as files move on timers, sit in queues and change hands multiple times, PGP keeps them protected at every step.

Managing keys at scale

Keys can become the pain point once you involve dozens or hundreds of partners. Private keys must be protected, rotated and sometimes even escrowed. Public keys expire or get revoked when staff leave. Fingerprints must be verified to thwart spoofing. Enterprises tame this with centralized keyrings, enforced expiration and rotation policies, signed key distribution and documented revocation procedures. Some layer in hardware security modules (HSMs) or cloud KMS services to keep private keys out of general‑purpose servers. In an MFT hub, automated triggers can refresh keys on a schedule and notify partners well before cutover dates.

How to implement PGP file encryption in your enterprise workflow

Manual tooling still has a place. An analyst can run GPG on a workstation to encrypt a one‑off export. That approach collapses under scale when retries, alerting, non‑repudiation evidence and guaranteed delivery are hard to bolt on by hand. At enterprise volume, you need orchestration.

Manual encryption with tools (GPG, OpenPGP CLI)

Use local tools for occasional jobs or investigations. They’re fine for a single export or a quick test, but they don’t deliver scheduling, monitoring or retry logic by themselves.

Using PGP with file transfer automation platforms

JSCAPE embeds OpenPGP support directly in its workflow. You can watch a directory, pick up a file, encrypt or decrypt it, sign or verify and hand it off over SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS, AS2 or OFTP2 without writing shell scripts. Triggers let you fire jobs on a schedule, after an upload or when a checksum fails. Dashboards and reports show every step (encryption success, signature verification and transmission status, etc.) so auditors see the complete chain of custody.

Scripting or integrating PGP into CI/CD or ETL pipelines

DevOps teams often prefer code to click paths. JSCAPE exposes REST APIs and scripting hooks that let you invoke encryption jobs from Jenkins, GitHub Actions or Airflow. ETL developers can call a PGP task mid‑pipeline and still rely on centralized logging and key management. This model keeps encryption consistent while letting teams iterate quickly in their own tools.

What to look for in PGP software

Choose a user-friendly PGP solution that has a streamlined file share workflow and cipher strength. Look for how it automates routine steps, manages keys centrally and captures evidence you can hand to auditors.

Automation capabilities

Look for platforms that can trigger PGP encryption as part of scheduled or event-driven workflows. JSCAPE supports fully automated encryption and decryption steps built into secure file transfers.

Support for OpenPGP standards

Ensure the solution supports OpenPGP and allows secure key exchange and compatibility with partners. Double-check that its libraries are regularly updated, as outdated open-source solutions are frequent targets for threat actor exploitation.

Centralized key management

Put keys in one place. Use a service that handles import/export, expiry, revocation and role-based access control (RBAC), so your operations team isn’t chasing key files across servers. Solutions like JSCAPE provide centralized key management to simplify administration at scale.

Logging and auditing features

Get logs that stream to your SIEM, drill to packet bytes when needed and satisfy PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX and GDPR mandates without bolt‑on scripts. Audit trails, detailed logs and integration with SIEM tools are essential. JSCAPE includes robust tracking to help your enterprise organization stay compliant throughout its file transfer workflow.

Keep your data protected with PGP file encryption

PGP may be older, but it’s battle‑tested. Paired with modern automation and transfer systems, it stays a critical layer in a secure exchange strategy. The format is open, the cryptography is strong and the operational model matches how enterprises actually move data: predictably, repeatedly and under scrutiny. Book a JSCAPE demo and watch how easy it is to plug PGP encryption into your automated workflows without a single custom script.