Cloud based file sharing has become second nature to us. We use a plethora of services to share documents with our family, friends and colleagues. Dropbox being one of the first to market helped it gain first movers advantage. But success always come with more scrutiny. Most security experts agree that while Dropbox type services might be a good way to share personal information on the internet, it is not secure enough to store and share confidential data. This is even more relevant for companies and professional firms.
DropBox recently published information about its security features highlighting the areas that are secured and those that are not secure. They stated that when your files are stored on the DropBox servers, they are encrypted. When they are being transferred from their servers to the users who are linking to those files, the encryption is still active during the transfer process. Likewise, when users are uploading files to the DropBox servers, the transfer process of the upload is encrypted as well. If there is encryption throughout out this process then what security issues does DropBox have?
DropBox security issues arise when the files are actually downloaded, stored and viewed on any individuals computer. To be able to view a document you needs to transfer it to your desktop. When you do so, that file becomes your property. The actual owner of the file has no ability to control what you do with that document once you gain access to it. This is why the Virtual Data Room industry exists; to be able to secure this last stage of the process as well. A virtual data room does not allow the user to become the owner and you can always remotely control and wipe a document if needed.
Conclusion
One needs to ensure that consumer grade security and sharing practices are not brought into the enterprise. When you are dealing with sensitive confidential information you want to be able to maintain complete control of that data at all times. If an employee leaves 1 year from now, even if he has access to all the company’s sensitive information on his desktop, revoking his access rights will make those documents on his desktop null and void. Virtual Data Rooms like EthosData are built to maintain this level of high security as most of the clients they work with are involved in M&A transactions that require complete control over their data. The highlight on Dropbox security issues is a reminder of why enterprise should steer clear of consumer grade solutions.
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