Security Risks of File Sharing

Consumer File Sharing May be Opening Up Your Company's Back Door

Have you done this? – You wanted to work on something at home so you transferred the file to a free file sharing account so that you could download it later. While the motivation for this action is to get work done quickly and efficiently, using consumer grade file sharing poses significant risks to businesses.

You Can’t Monitor and Protect What You Cannot See or Control

Corporations point resources toward keeping their information and communications safe by building layers of security. These layers could include a firewall, antivirus and antispyware software, and email filtering. When employees circumvent these systems, they can make the company vulnerable because business information is stored on servers where they cannot exert any control. Often employees do this without consulting IT and the result is that there is no corporate visibility to where the information is stored, and no control over who might eventually download it.

Risks to Business Continuity and Compliance

When employees use consumer-level email for company purposes, the business may not be able to access the email and its contents if the employee leaves the company. Further, if that email address was used to set up outside accounts, it may be difficult to claim ownership if there is a falling out with the employee who created the accounts.

Some industries have stringent compliance requirements for the level of security that is needed to maintain customer data. Healthcare, financial and legal companies would incur compliance violations if their employees ventured outside of their corporate email and file storage environments. All companies need to be sure that they maintain the privacy of their customers by keeping their data safe from theft.

How to Close the Back Door

Establishing policies that strictly prohibit the use of third-party and consumer-grade file storage and email systems is the first thing companies should do to keep communications and information visible and in control. The deployment a company-approved application would allow IT to control the data, yet give employees the access and functionality they need to get their work done. The best systems make it possible for users to access all of their files on any device and to collaborate with colleagues, clients and business partners whether they are in the office or working remotely.

More IT Risks that Might Threaten Your Business

Your day-to-day business operations depends on technology and while you appreciate its benefits, it comes with major risks.