What does data encryption seek to protect?

Data encryption primarily seeks to protect the integrity and confidentiality of data. It does this by converting the data into a coded format that can only be accessed or decrypted by someone who possesses the correct decryption key. This ensures that unauthorized parties cannot read or modify the sensitive information, thereby maintaining its confidentiality and safeguarding it against tampering or corruption, which supports its integrity.

While other options present concepts related to data management and security, they do not directly align with the primary objectives of data encryption. For instance, protecting the physical appearance of data does not prevent unauthorized access or alteration; rather, encryption focuses on the content itself. Similarly, data redundancy pertains to data duplication for backup and reliability purposes, and data storage time relates to how long data is retained or managed, neither of which are fundamental goals of encryption.