What does encryption primarily aim to achieve?

Encryption primarily aims to protect data confidentiality. When data is encrypted, it is transformed into a secure format that is unreadable to unauthorized users. This ensures that sensitive information remains private, safeguarding it from potential breaches, theft, or unauthorized access. By keeping data confidential, encryption plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of information exchanges, especially in environments where data sensitivity is paramount, such as financial institutions and healthcare organizations.

While the other options focus on various operational aspects of data handling, they do not specifically address the fundamental purpose of encryption, which is to safeguard information from being accessed and understood by those who lack authorization.