What is File-sharing security?

• File-sharing Security Definition

  File-sharing Security Definition

  File-sharing security is all about utilizing the right set of file security tools, transfer protocols, and procedures while exchanging sensitive business documents inside or outside the company network.
• Firewalls, file servers, mail clients: sources of file-sharing security logs

  Firewalls, file servers, mail clients: sources of file-sharing security logs

  Firewalls: Besides filtering network traffic, firewalls also maintain detailed logs for security threat investigation purposes. Firewall logs capture details of suspicious events, such as sudden decrease/increase in network traffic and abrupt firewall start/stop. With security information and event management (SIEM) software, you can correlate the firewall logs with the file audit events to identify and block malicious actors like advanced persistent threats (APTs) from accessing and sharing sensitive business documents.

  File servers: Use various protocols like SFTP and HTTPS while transferring sensitive business documents over the internet. These servers also maintain detailed logs related to different file activities, such as document creation and modification. Reading these log files can help track the users attempting to access and share a sensitive document or folder. However, reading multiple file-sharing security logs manually using elementary tools like Notepad is often time-consuming and complex. Therefore, most companies use automated logging and file monitoring tools for granular insights into file server events.

  Mail Clients: Web or desktop-based email apps provide the option to send or receive sensitive business documents but with size constraints. Popular examples include Microsoft Outlook and Gmail. These mail clients and associated mail servers act as a valuable source of file-sharing security logs. Tracking the document delivery status through email log files is straightforward. You can also combine the logs generated by the mail server, firewall, and antivirus tools with the file audit data to track suspicious alterations to specific files.
• How do I check the security of file transfer and file sharing?

  How do I check the security of file transfer and file sharing?

  Sharing files in an encrypted and secure way is vital for organizations to prevent the possibility of data theft and other security incidents. The use of consumer-grade document-sharing services by employees often increases the file-sharing security risks for organizations. Some of the drawbacks of consumer-grade file sync and share services include accidental data loss or theft.

  Outlined below are some of the options for secure online file sharing in your organization:

  Secure file transfer software: A managed file transfer (MFT) solution is probably the best option for secure document exchange in your organization while fulfilling various compliance requirements like HIPAA and PCI DSS. Unlike most file transfer services supporting only a single protocol like FTP, a managed file transfer solution supports multiple security protocols like SFTP and HTTPS, enabling organizations to exchange data with internal and external users in an encrypted and compliant way. It also provides a centralized interface allowing you to manage and control organization-wide data transfers and access permissions from one place. Advanced MFT tools also support two-factor authentication and demilitarized zone (DMZ) streaming to ensure robust security for your file transfer environment. To detect suspicious file changes and prevent compliance violations, you can integrate MFT software with other security tools, such as SIEM software. A SIEM tool correlates the logs forwarded by the MFT server with data from antivirus tools to identify malicious file changes or transfers.

  Strict access control: Apply the principle of least privilege while delegating permissions to view or access specific files and folders to organizational users. Role-based access restricts users from accessing documents outside the scope of their job duties. Consider clubbing the enterprise users under different groups based on their job profile, department, and other relevant filters while assigning document share permissions. If possible, restrict the number of folders or files users can create to reduce the overall complexity of permissions management. Additionally, you can deploy identity and access management (IAM) software to manage user access permissions to sensitive documents effectively.
• Safety of file sharing in the organization

  Safety of file sharing in the organization

  Document sharing has become necessary for modern businesses to enhance team collaboration and productivity. However, exchanging files—both text and multimedia—via less secure mediums like online file-sharing platforms introduces multiple challenges for companies, such as accidental data breaches and compliance violations. Therefore, adopting secure document transfer methods is critical for organizations to reduce file-sharing security risks.

  Outlined below are some key measures to increase the safety of file sharing in your organization:

  Employee awareness and training: The rapid proliferation of free cloud storage and file-sharing services encourages employees to use them for data storage and collaboration without prior approval from internal IT departments. Therefore, increase awareness among employees about the consumer file sharing solutions and the security challenges they introduce to your organization by organizing different seminars. Encourage employees to use company-approved file transfer options to avoid accidental data breaches, compliance violations, and other security incidents.

  File sharing policies: Formulating a robust and comprehensive file sharing and transfer policy is vital for organizations to prevent employees from utilizing insecure data transfer options. Ideally, build a policy clearly outlining all the legitimate methods employees can use for document sharing and team collaboration. It should also outline rules for document sharing with users outside the company network to prevent the risk of accidental data leaks.

  Regular audits: Of sensitive files, folders, and file servers can help you track possible data breaches based on abnormal usage patterns. Auditing helps determine the users who have access to sensitive business documents. You can also employ file integrity monitoring software to exclude irrelevant data during file audits and focus only on meaningful insights. With such detailed audits, you can confirm whether the modifications made across the file system were legitimate or accidental and accept or reject them accordingly.

  Complex passwords: Besides employing a robust password manager solution in your business, instruct employees to use strong passwords, making it hard for attackers to decode. It’s more critical for employees who are working on confidential business projects. And regularly review the system or file passwords set by employees to identify pitfalls and take appropriate action to rectify them.