Secure File Sharing: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

If you work online, chances are you need to share files and links with your coworkers as part of your job. However, when these files contain sensitive information, you need a way to share them safely, without compromising your organization’s privacy and security.

This is where secure file sharing services and techniques come in handy. Secure file sharing ensures that only the intended recipients can access the files, keeping them safe from cyber criminals and other prying eyes.

Let’s take a look at why secure file sharing is so important, risks to be aware of, and best practices to implement in your organization.

Key Takeaways

• Secure file sharing services keep your files private and safe as you share them with coworkers and clients.
• These platforms use strategies like encryption, two-factor authentication, and ongoing auditing to keep your files safe.
• Secure file sharing is essential for preventing data breaches and cyberattacks.
• Secure file sharing is an alternative to sending your files via email, social media, or other unsecured channels.

What is Secure File Sharing?

Secure file sharing uses digital tools and proactive measures to protect files while they are in transit. These file-sharing solutions are designed to keep your files private so that other users cannot access them without permission.

In an age where many companies create and store their work documents in the cloud, secure file sharing has become more important than ever. Hackers often target unsecured files in search of financial data, intellectual property, or other sensitive documents. 

Using secure file-sharing tools helps you avoid costly data breaches that could interfere with your operations or negatively impact your reputation.

Secure file transfer tools have a variety of features to keep your documents safe and private, such as: 

• End-to-End Encryption – uses cryptography to make your files unreadable to third parties as you send them.
• Password Protection – a form of security requiring a password to open a document.
• Multi-factor Authentication – requires a user to supply their username and password and prove who they are in order to authenticate.

The Importance of Secure File Sharing

When sharing PDFs, photos, videos, and other work files, it’s tempting to use email or unsecured cloud storage for the sake of convenience. However, using unsecured file sharing tools puts your organization at risk.

Secure file sharing services reduce the risk of a data breach by limiting access to data to only those who have permission to access it. This helps keep everyone from cyber criminals to disgruntled former employees out of your systems. It’s also a way to limit access only to team members that need it, rather than sharing files with your entire company.

Data breaches and other cyber attacks can be very costly to repair. In 2023, the global average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million.

Not only are you spending money to get your systems back up and running again, but you could also lose business during that time, affecting your overall revenue operations. Using secure online file sharing can help you avoid this costly damage to your business.

Additionally, secure file sharing may be necessary according to your compliance requirements, depending on many factors. 

For example, if your business is subject to HIPAA or to GDPR requirements, you’ll need a strategy in place to protect customer privacy, which could include secure file sharing and secure cloud storage. 

If you fail to comply with these requirements, your business could be subject to fines and even legal consequences.

What Are the Risks of Insecure File Sharing?

Unfortunately, many companies opt for insecure file sharing methods, such as email attachments or sharing links that are unsecured. While these methods may seem harmless on the surface, they come with a wide range of data security risks for your organization.

Loss of Intellectual Property

Insecure file sharing increases the risk of intellectual property (IP) loss by potentially exposing this IP to unintended recipients. This loss of intellectual property could potentially interfere with your future business plans and even cause you to lose ground to competitors. 

Malware Distribution

When you use insecure file sharing methods, there’s also the risk that your files could be hijacked and used as a way to distribute malware. Malware is a broad category of malicious software programs that includes ransomware, spyware, adware, and more. 

These programs can steal sensitive data and even crash your systems. Ransomware is a particularly big threat, as it holds your data hostage and demands a significant financial payment to restore it.

Identity Theft

Finally, insecure file sharing methods could lead to identity theft, both for your clients and your employees. Many work documents contain personally identifiable information that a hacker could use to access credit cards and bank accounts. 

While secure sharing methods are important for all types of files, they’re particularly crucial for documents that contain things like birthdays, Social Security Numbers, credit card numbers, and other identifiable information.

Best Practices for Secure File Sharing

Choose the Right Filing Sharing Service

The first step toward safe and secure file sharing is choosing the right service for your organization. 

Platforms like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive are all popular choices because they integrate well with many other work tools and support large files.

When choosing the right service for your organization, think about the types of files you’ll be sharing and the compliance standards you need to adhere to. Your file management platform should fit in seamlessly with your existing workflows.

Implement Strong Access Controls

Once you’ve decided which file sharing service to use, the next step is to implement strong access controls. With the right access controls in place, you’ll ensure that your files are only available to the employees and clients who need them.

Conduct Regular Audits

Additionally, you’ll need to conduct regular audits of your file sharing system to look for abnormalities or malicious activity. You may need to update your system or put new practices in place as technology changes and new security threats emerge. 

Only 70% of large organizations with annual revenue over $1 million address cybersecurity in their broader risk assessments. For smaller companies, that number is even lower at just 40%. 

Frequent cybersecurity audits will help you better understand how your employees are sharing files and what changes you need to make.

Educate Employees

On top of that, make sure you’re educating your employees about cybersecurity best practices and the importance of secure file sharing. 

In particular, employees should learn how to create secure passwords and how to spot the signs of a cyber attack.

How Can a Managed Service Provider Help You?

Managed service providers offer IT and cybersecurity services on a third-party basis and can help you implement an effective file sharing strategy. 

An MSP can help you choose an appropriate file sharing tool, conduct system audits and monitoring, and provide cybersecurity education for your team.

As a managed service partner, your MSP can serve as your primary provider of IT services or work with your in-house IT team. MSP services are also scalable, so they can adjust with you as your company grows and changes over time.