diff --git a/src/litdata/streaming/item_loader.py b/src/litdata/streaming/item_loader.py
index 75bd3ef63..7bfc8e4a4 100644
--- a/src/litdata/streaming/item_loader.py
+++ b/src/litdata/streaming/item_loader.py
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ def load_item_from_chunk(
 
             self._chunk_filepaths[chunk_filepath] = True
 
-        if self._config["encryption"]:
+        if self._config.get("encryption"):
             data = self._load_encrypted_data(chunk_filepath, chunk_index, offset, encryption)
         else:
             with open(chunk_filepath, "rb", 0) as fp: