You’ve been there; you’re ready to move forward with a business transaction, and you need to securely share confidential files with investors and/or potential acquirers. But how do you ensure that the files you are sharing remain secure during and after the transfer? The truth is, the minute you transmit information, whether it take place via email or a cloud-based solution; it's immediately catapulted into the abyss of potential interceptions, hackers, or thieves. Not exactly the place you want your sensitive company information.
So, what steps do you need to take to prevent a threat like this against your business? You should take precautions and learn about the solutions that are available to help you to have a more secure file transfer system in place. If you want to ensure the highest level of security for your file transfers, your system should include these features:
Permission-Based User Roles: This feature should offer granular permission settings that allow you to control access to your data. A quality secure file transfer solution will allow an administrator to select specific permission settings for each user, controlling who has access to which documentation, as well as set restrictions such as view only which will automatically disable printing.
Data Encryption: Your files are susceptible to attacks during transmission but also when sitting on a server somewhere. Having a solution that offers encryption for data at rest will protect against attacks of confidential information inside that server. Taking it one step further, your solution should include things like an authenticated key agreement, and passwords that are masked with a separate salt and encrypted with Bcrypt.
Authentication Processes: One of the easiest ways hackers succeed in gaining access to your system is pretending to be one of your actual users. Your file transfer system should include strong processes that validate user identity accurately. This goes beyond just a simple username and secure password, but methods of two-factor authentication.
Activity and Audit Logs: Audit trail reporting allows administrators to see every click registered in the data room. If you experience a breach or crash, an audit log recording the activities can provide the answers you need regarding exactly what caused it. These logs also identify which users are following processes, best practices, and company data transfer policies.
Privacy and Confidentiality: When sharing confidential business documentation its crucial that individuals viewing the secure files are aware of the sensitive nature of the information they are viewing. Your solution should offer features such a customizable non-disclosure agreement and watermarks as a way to remind the user that information is confidential, and provide a way to track the source of a leak should one occur.
More than ever before, large file transfers are exposing companies to tremendous risk. If you want to keep your sensitive information protected and your risks for breaches to a minimum, these five features should be an excellent starting point for selecting the right file transfer solution.
A SecureDocs Virtual Data Room offers all of the features discussed and more at a price point that makes sense for businesses of all sizes, not only during transactions, but also as an ongoing repository for your corporate documentation. Click below to start your SecureDocs free trial or request a short demo and see why our clients love us.
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