5 Ways to Ensure Secure and Easy Sharing and Storing of Sensitive Information

In any business, there’s going to be information that needs to be shared and stored securely, some more than others. Financial, legal and highly personal info are the top priorities. However, when it comes to your clients’ information, you should be able to assure them that it’s in good hands. With that in mind, here are five of the best ways to make sure the information you store, send and receive is safe and secure.

Encryption

Email is generally the quickest and easiest way to send documents and other information. The only downside is that, if the person knows what they’re doing, it does have the potential to be hacked. To minimize the risk, all your emails should be encrypted, particularly those containing sensitive content.

Use a VPN

A virtual private network allows you to safely connect to a private network, such as your office network, through a less public network. This is great for companies with offices in multiple locations and for employees who need to send and receive info on the move or while traveling for business. The company and employees outside the office can work on a single network while in multiple locations. The VPN keeps data sent and received from being intercepted, usually using encryption.

Password Protected Files

For shared documents and folders, as well as email attachments, agree on a password with clients and colleagues. Whenever you send important information or anything you’d rather not have someone else read, password protect the file. This means that anyone else who comes across the file, whether they’ve hacked it, or you forgot to log out of your email, can’t access the info.

For bigger files, zip them. Compressed files take up less space, are generally harder to intercept, and can also be password protected, so you need the password to unzip them.

Use a Virtual Data Room

A virtual data room is a great cloud storage and sharing option. Because it is a form of online storage, anyone with permission can access the documents and files they need from anywhere in the world. It’s safer and much more convenient than a physical data room, and you can share with colleagues and clients quickly and easily. This comes with extra layers of protection than cloud solutions such as Dropbox or Google Drive and eschews the risks of hacking that things like email carry.

Physical Storage

Although the above solutions guarantee that you will be able to send and store information securely, you can’t ignore your physical data storage — which includes hard drives and paper. Make sure your office building is secure day and night, whether there are people there or not. Computers should be secured to desks with safety cables. These aren’t foolproof, as they can be cut with bolt cutters, but they will prevent opportunistic theft. Laptops and external drives should be locked away at night and filing rooms and cabinets with important documents should also be secure, if only for use as backups in case of electronic failure.

When it comes to your own information, you want to know it’s safe so your clients’ information should also be a priority. Make sure everything you send is password protected or encrypted. Opt for trusted, secure cloud storage and sharing option and make sure physical data and drives are safe.

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