How companies share files securely

More and more organizations are networking digitally with their service providers, partners and customers. File sharing solutions for storing and exchanging files play a central role in efficient cross-company collaboration. However, companies must exercise caution, especially when it comes to security and data protection-relevant information.

ownCloud, a specialist in digital collaboration, explains how such solutions should be set up to enable secure and privacy-compliant collaboration that is both convenient and efficient:

• Companies should use file sharing software that can be operated either on their own servers or in the data center of an IT service provider of their choice. Only then will they have full control over their sensitive data at all times. 
• Ideally, files and folders can be shared across federated servers. This option is useful not only for cross-enterprise collaboration, but also for collaboration between multiple branches of an organization in different jurisdictions.
• When collaborating with recurring contacts without a compatible cloud, a guest user feature proves its worth. It lets guests access folders and files shared with them just like regular users. 
• For sporadic contacts only, it should be possible to create so-called drop folders. These are password-protected folders into which people or groups from outside the organization can upload files, but cannot view the contents.
• Companies need the ability to define upload rules for all folders. In addition, all uploads should be checked by a file firewall and a virus scanner. 
• For documents requiring special protection, a special, highly protected data room is recommended. Documents can be released there for viewing by a selected audience and provided with watermarks and usage restrictions. Ideally, the documents remain on the server at all times and are only displayed as watermarked graphics in the browser.
• The file sharing solution should be able to automatically classify documents based on policies and assign appropriate sharing settings to them.  
• Expiration dates can prevent releases from being forgotten and causing compliance violations. Lifecycle management should ensure that data is only kept for as long as it is needed. 
• The listing of all file and folder actions as well as the recording of all user and admin actions gives companies a comprehensive overview of the interactions with their documents. 

"With the right operating model and features, organizations can create a comprehensively secure solution for digital collaboration - whether internally or externally with other companies," said Ingo Schildt, Director Distribution Channel at ownCloud. "This then gives them a useful complement to low-cost public cloud services that are out of the question for collaboration on sensitive data and intellectual property."

Source: ownCloud