File Sharing is a common use case in modern enterprises & professional offices. But careless file sharing by employees can put an organization’s intellectual property in jeopardy. It can also expose the organizations to business & legal risks. So one of the critical roles of system administrators is to educate their employees about secure file […]
File Sharing is a common use case in modern enterprises & professional offices. But careless file sharing by employees can put an organization's intellectual property in jeopardy. It can also expose the organizations to business & legal risks. So one of the critical roles of system administrators is to educate their employees about secure file sharing practices. Here we list 10 common sense guidelines that can help you keep your organization files secure and safe.
1. When you share a file with your client, always set an expiry date for the file share.
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Secure file sharing with an expiry date[/caption]
2. When you share a sensitive file with the client, make sure your share is protected by a strong password.
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Secure file sharing with password protection[/caption]
3. Some secure enterprise file sharing solutions like FileCloud offers two options: public and private file shares. Always use private file shares when you share a sensitive file. Private file shares require the receiving party to have an account in the file sharing system. It allows for strong auditing and security.
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Private File Share[/caption]
4. When you receive files from clients, set a maximum upload limit for the file share.
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Secure file sharing - Upload size limit[/caption]
5. Always follow the principle of least privilege when you share files. For Ex, don't give upload permission if download permission is sufficient.
6. Before sharing any file, make sure the files don't have personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI)
7. Never share a top-level folder with clients. By default, a majority of the enterprise file sharing applications allow access to subfolders when your share a top folder. It is a big risk.
8. If your use-case is to securely receive files from your clients, don't give permissions to download and view files from the share.
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Secure file sharing - Upload only option[/caption]
9. Always enable file change notifications when you share a folder. It helps you to receive timely notifications of views, uploads and downloads.
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Secure file sharing - file change notification[/caption]
10. Periodically check your file share analytics and make sure the files are downloaded by intended recipients.
These guidelines are simple to follow and at the same time powerful. It will help you to increase the security of file shares.
Many file-sharing applications are available in the market. But make sure when you choose a solution, it is not consumer grade. Most consumer-grade file sharing solutions are optimized for easy file sharing. Security is an afterthought for these solutions.
FileCloud offers the industry's most powerful, secure enterprise file sharing solution. specifically built for businesses. You can register for a free trial here.
You don't need to take our word. Please try it yourself and you will find why we are growing faster than dropbox and Box.
