The 3 Necessary Security Features in Your Document and File-Sharing Network

If you’re looking into document and file-sharing services, chances are you’re trying to make sure it’s safe to use. Security, of course, is a crucial element of any online resources, whether you’re running a general e-commerce company or you’re managing critical health information that needs multiple layers of security. When you choose your document or file-sharing network, here are three crucial security features to make sure that you’re sending documents safely.

1. Multi-Factor Authentication

You may have heard this referred to as “two-factor authentication,” although with the rise of more methods of authentication, “multi-factor authentication” has become more of a common term. This is a security feature that requires a user to provide more than one piece of information to log into their account.

For example, if you’re using an account that has single-factor authentication, you input your password and you have access to everything. With multi-factor authentication, you may need to input your password, receive a special code through SMS, and input an additional password to access certain files. This can help reduce the occurrence of hacking, as it tends to make it more difficult to hack accounts.

2. High-Quality Encryption

Encryption keys can help you send information to and from servers without having to worry about people being able to take that information and decode it. The Advanced Encryption Standard, or AES, allows for keys up to 256 bits; the longer the encryption key, the more difficult it would be for someone to crack it themselves.

Many companies now use 256-bit keys, and it’s essentially the industry standard at this point, especially for groups that need to maximize security. 1Password, for example, which is a password management app, has been using 256-bit keys since 2013. Check to see what type of encryption your preferred option is using; if it’s significantly less than 256 bits, it’s probably not the right choice.

3. Access Limitation Options

Access limitation is a concept that allows you to limit access rights for individual users to the absolute bare minimum they need for their work. If you utilize access limitation to its fullest extent, you can reduce risks all across your company, especially when it comes to accidental risks rather than intentional ones.

For example, document-sharing tools may allow some users to download documents, some to edit documents, and some to delete documents. This way, only top-level users will be able to get rid of documents on the server. A document-sharing tool that only allows someone to have full access or no access will naturally take on a significant amount of risk that doesn’t need to be there.

Conclusion

It’s possible to build a document and file-sharing network with security at the forefront. There are plenty of document and file-sharing networks available online that might be perfect for your website. Just keep these three security features in mind and make sure you choose one with top marks on all of them so you can keep your documents safe for clients and your organization.