Confidential documents are supposed to remain just that - confidential. Therefore, how and where you choose to share and store them will depend upon the level of security you want for them while specific business transactions and procedures are being completed. Such business practices demand that your information be stored in a safe place. A virtual data room (VDR) is the safest way in which to protect all of your sensitive documents.
Controlling and Sharing your Documents
The internet has made document sharing more convenient and easier than ever before. It has streamlined the communication process between multiple entities, whether they are locally or globally situated. However, such efficiency and simplicity cost a price. And, that price presents itself in the form of threats. More specifically, threats to the document control and cybersecurity of companies. Generally, human errors play a role in these kinds of threats. Human errors are inevitable. However, those errors that resulted from an oversight did not necessarily need to occur, if the correct document sharing software had already been in place. An employee who misplaces a document that contains sensitive information, a sudden leak of confidential information or an eviler type of hacking should prompt you to reconsider the security measures that you currently have in place. Protecting the confidentiality of intellectual property, third-party contracts and human resource documents, just to name a few, demand that you do so.
Protecting people's confidential information should be taken seriously. Not doing so can have severe and lasting consequences. Equifax, Target, eBay and Yahoo are just a few companies that have first-hand knowledge of the importance of online data security. These companies' security protocols allegedly placed their clients' confidential information at risk. Supposedly, their clients' names, social security numbers, dates of birth, credit card information, passwords and more information were placed in jeopardy. Such exposure warranted compensation for the clients. And, as a result, the companies paid millions of dollars in compensation. Such breaches can tarnish a company's reputation. For example, if the damaged company is seeking an acquisition or a merger, then an argument could be made either to reduce the company's sale price by a substantial amount of money, or to just kill the deal. Such drastic events could also happen to your company. That is why periodic analyzation of your current way of sharing documents should occur. Doing so would help in the identification of any weaknesses that could pose a threat to your security system, as well as allow immediate improvements to be made to it.
A Virtual Data Room is a Better Option
A VDR is the best way to make certain that you continue to manage all of the confidential information associated with financial transactions and other business transactions. Under this option, the safety of such confidential information is paramount. While the intricacies of a VDR are more complex than just maintaining a vault for your information, a tool that is capable of producing the right amount of balance between control and accessibility is needed. Such a balance is required because a substantial amount of information is being shared with third-party entities.
The perfect VDR reeks of simplicity and easy navigation. With a VDR, documents are able to be accessed, reviewed and uploaded effortlessly. A VDR allows everything to be performed in an efficient and organized manner. Its multiple features act as a defense against the unsolicited access of third parties. A VDR allows you to control the information that will be viewed, as well as when it can be viewed. Plus, it can track who has viewed which documents.
The Other Options
The safe sharing and controlling of your confidential documents would best be served by investing in a virtual data room. But, less sophisticated and less secure platforms do exist. They include email, Google Drive and Dropbox, just to name a few. Known as a cloud-based storage service, Dropbox was hacked in 2012. The leak encompassed the email and password information of more than 68 million users. This is not an efficient tool.
Corporate email is not an ideal tool to use in the protection of your sensitive information. An email server is only as good as its security. So, if a hacking occurred, then that individual would be privy to every document that was shared on the server.
All companies probably have data that are not confidential enough to warrant the usage of a VDR. However, you should not allow the security and safety of your document sharing and storage to be dependent upon money. It would be in your best interest to seek a software that can be entrusted with your legal documents and financial information. Allowing another platform to handle your business' security will not provide you with the same level of security offered by a Virtual Data Room. Nothing compares to its fluidity, organization and its unyielding protection against third-party intrusions.
