3: Encrypting ‘Report Ghosting’ Data

 Encrypting ‘Report Ghosting’ data before it is sent to our servers is a critical step in protecting the privacy    and integrity of the information. This step involves using the `pluginKey` provided in your account to encrypt the data according to the AES-CBC encryption standard. Below is a detailed guide on how to perform this encryption process.

 3.1 Required Tools and Libraries

  For this process, you will need access to cryptographic functions that support AES-CBC encryption. If you are using JavaScript in a Node.js environment, the built-in `crypto` module will suffice. For browsers, the Web Crypto API provides the necessary functionality.

 3.2 Encryption Process

   The encryption process involves several key steps:

 

   1. **Prepare the Data**: 

   Format the data you wish to encrypt as a JSON object. This object should contain all the necessary information related to the ‘Report Ghosting’ incident.

  2. **Stringify the JSON Object**:

  Convert the JSON object into a string using `JSON.stringify()` since the encryption functions operate on string or byte data.

  3. **Generate an Initialization Vector (IV)**:

  For AES-CBC encryption, an IV is required. The IV should be randomly generated for each encryption operation to ensure security. The IV length should be 16 bytes (128 bits).

  4. **Encrypt the Data**: 

  Use the `pluginKey` and the IV to encrypt the stringified JSON data. The encrypted data should then be combined with the IV for transmission, as the IV will be needed for decryption.

 5. **Encode the Encrypted Data**: 

 Encode the combined encrypted data and IV as a base64 string for easy transmission over HTTP.