Today, companies and their remote workers are distributed throughout the world. The lines between personal spaces and professional work environments are blurred, with teams often using a blend of company-managed and personal devices to accomplish their work.
Security practices can fall to the wayside as the speed of business pressures team members to take shortcuts to deliver quality work on time. It's mission-critical for organizations to balance the need for flexibility and speed with data security.
Digital file sharing is a business necessity
Today’s organizations need their teams to collaborate and share information no matter their location. In a digital world, physical filing systems won't cut it.
Top organizations understand that their success depends on knowledge workers having the information they need in real-time, and clunky processes can't stifle collaboration on critical deliverables. The challenge is in the balancing act between flexibility and security.
The risks of getting it wrong
With companies having more people working from home on their networks than ever before, the risk of security issues with file sharing has never been higher. It's not just small businesses facing this problem. Enterprises can experience data loss and breaches as quickly as a person can fire off an email from their personal computer. Companies operating in regulated industries and sectors risk massive fines, and high-profile breaches can range from merely embarrassing to devastating reputational consequences.
File sharing methods: risks and tips
Email is still the most common method for information and file sharing, but it's not suited for all use cases. Most email systems have hard limits on file size and storage limitations that limit their ability to cover all file sharing needs. Businesses need to cover the use cases that email systems can't support because people might find insecure workaround solutions to maintain their productivity. These workarounds, like Google Docs, are usually designed for personal accounts and are in no way intended to protect critical business data.
File sharing systems designed for personal use make it easy to expose data, and that's their main selling point. Users flock to these systems because they are widely available and offer virtually zero impediments to sharing files. That's great for sharing recipes amongst family members but terrible for collaborating on proprietary company deliverables.
To ensure that teams can collaborate and share documents, organizations usually need dedicated file sharing services. It's critical to provide a business-ready, secure solution because the risks associated with publicly available file sharing services can be incredibly damaging.
Malicious software
Another severe risk with insecure file sharing services is the spread of malicious software. Examples of malicious software include viruses, spyware, trojan horses, and ransomware. If people use their company-furnished equipment to share files, this could expose the company's network and resources even if the teams are working remotely through a VPN.
When considering technology solutions for file sharing, useability is critical for your business. Intentionally or unintentionally, the insider threat remains one of the most significant cyber threats a company can face. When people face difficulty using the tools provided, they will often turn to workarounds that can wreak havoc on your security posture. Companies need to invest in dedicated, secure file sharing solutions to support their workforces on-site and remotely to avoid these potential consequences.
Secure file sharing with Egress
Egress Secure Workspace offers an encrypted environment with enterprise-grade access controls. The tool is easy to manage and robust enough to ensure that internal team members and external partners can access files securely. It fully supports today's hybrid and remote workforces with a dedicated mobile app and productivity toolkit that enables teams to collaborate seamlessly from anywhere. Detailed audit trails and granular retention policies support regulated environments and help companies demonstrate their compliance with robust reporting capability.
For organizations embracing digital transformation, Egress Secure Webform helps companies go paperless, integrating seamlessly into workflows to eliminate any need for manual, paper-based data ingestion processes. Security frameworks with certified encryption capability and granular controls can guarantee the safety of inbound confidential information.
Egress Secure Workspace and Egress Secure Webform seamlessly work together to ensure that sensitive data can be securely stored, managed, and controlled while never compromising useability. Find out more about how these solutions can empower productivity for your workforce.
