How To Securely Share Documents Outside Your Company
Most companies have internal policies and controls to regulate the exposure of sensitive information. Employees are trained and tools are used to enforce those policies.
However, those same safeguards don’t exist when your business needs to share sensitive information with third parties. Contracts, detailed project plans, product designs, future advertising campaigns—those are just some of the examples of files and documents you need to share outside the company, but also need to protect from bad actors and unauthorized users.
These scenarios play out every day across the business world, and it raises an important security question: how do you control data when it’s out of your control?
NDAs Are Not Enough
Companies typically ask third parties to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to address this issue, but there is little they can do to safeguard sensitive information beyond that.
Emails go out with attachments and public links, with little to no protection. And once the information is sent, it is easily shareable with others, which only compounds the problem. More importantly, your perspective on risk likely differs from the organizations you collaborate with, so it’s highly unlikely they’ll treat your data the same way you would.
You need secure file sharing that meets your specific needs, with flexible data protection that can adapt to different situations and use cases. However, you don’t want a solution that’s cumbersome or challenging to use, because users bypass solutions that interfere with their normal workflows.
Even further, data sharing has become more fast-paced and riskier in the AI era. All of the solutions below can be supplemented by Egnyte’s AI Safeguards, which prevent the sharing of sensitive content via AI. Contact your Egnyte representative or use the chatbot below to see these solutions in action.
Egnyte Has a Solution
The Egnyte platform has been developed to provide you with the right level of security for your company’s file-sharing needs. Each of the following models has been carefully designed to allow your employees to share documents safely with partners, customers, and clients.
In addition, administrators retain full control over the sharing options that are available to employees. More importantly, intuitive interfaces and minimal interruption make these tools easy to use for employees and their external contacts, so you can be confident they will be used.
Facilitate Basic File Sharing
With Egnyte, employees can easily share non-sensitive data with contacts using simple links rather than email attachments. This reduces the load on email systems and avoids hitting data limits, especially for mobile users.
To share a document, the user chooses the file and then selects “share” from the menu. They’ll be given the option to copy a link, which can be dropped into an email or chat session, and sharing is completed.
However, the user is provided with even simpler ways to enhance the experience. For example, the sender can choose any combination of the following features:
- Link Expiration: to have the link expire on a certain date
- Sender Notification: to be notified when the link is accessed by the recipient
- File Name: to have the (human-readable) file name included in the link
- Version: to always display the most recent version of the file
Share Information Securely, Without Permitting Downloads
Often, organizations need to share sensitive information, but they need to be sure users cannot download and/or modify it. That is also easy to do with the Egnyte platform. By selecting “No” to the question “Allow downloads?”, the recipient will receive a link that allows them to view the file only in a browser. This initiates a special file previewer in the Egnyte platform that’s compatible with dozens of file formats.
These include:
- More than 20 word-processing programs (.doc, .docx, etc.)
- More than 10 major spreadsheet formats (.123, .xls, .csv, etc.)
- More than 10 major slideshow presentation programs ( pps, ppsm, ppsx, ppt, etc.)
- More than 60 image formats (.gif, .jfif, .jpeg, .png, etc.)
- Binary File formats (dcm, dgn, dwg)
- Common Audio and Video file formats (flv, mp3, mp4, m4a, ogv, webm, wav, etc.)
- More than 45 source code formats (applescript, as, as3, bash, c, etc.)
- Multiple Google file formats (gdoc, gsheet, gslides, gdraw)
Since file types evolve over time, you can see the full list of compatible formats here.
Add Simple, Effective Password Protection
For the next level of protection, organizations can set policies that require password protection for sensitive files that are passed outside the organization. To do this, the sender simply checks “Anyone with a Password.” The system automatically generates a password for the sender to copy and add to a separate email. This provides an additional level of security.
Limit File Access to Specific Recipients
The Egnyte platform includes the option to limit file access to specific email addresses. To do this, the sender selects “Specific Recipients,” and a window opens in the Egnyte platform to add recipients’ email addresses. When the recipient receives the first email, they can click the link to access the file.
However, the next time the file is accessed, they will need to receive a new link sent to the correct email address. This prevents recipients from forwarding the link to others. It also allows the sender to revoke permission to disable access to the file when necessary.
Secure File Sharing Across Industries and Use Cases
These different models are beneficial across all industries. Life sciences organizations and financial institutions need to limit access so clients or partners can view—and not edit—files, while legal professionals appreciate the ability to securely collaborate on contracts and legal agreements. Meanwhile, businesses in the manufacturing and service industries use secure document sharing in their workflows to protect Intellectual Property (IP) within their extensive supply chains. Egnyte provides significant value in all of those scenarios.
Given the Egnyte platform's ease of use, securely sharing documents is no longer an impediment to getting business done. Rather, it’s a productivity enhancer. Sign up now for a free trial to find out how.
