Email is now the de facto way to share information quickly, efficiently and economically. It’s an instant alternative to traffic jams, postal delays interruptions to fax machines and busy phone lines. But when it comes down to sharing confidential documents, the ease of email hides a number of inherent dangers. Once your sensitive data leaves your server, there is no way to know the location it goes to or who has access to it. Even if you secure your emails, which adds an additional layer of security, it might not be enough protection to protect you against the type of man-in-the-middle attacks.
Customer documents typically contain confidential information that could be used by cybercriminals to commit identity theft and other illegal activities. Cyberattacks on email servers could also lead to the loss or theft files.
The positive side is that with a few best practices and a receptive NDA it is possible to safely exchange confidential documents through email. Email security can be improved by limiting the amount of identifiable information in an email. Making sure your files are password-protected and adding a confidentiality declaration to your signature automatically are easy steps.
To provide more complete protection, email providers like Gmail and Outlook now offer S/MIME email encryption that enables users to sign digitally their attachments and emails, assuring the authenticity of the file and securing it from “man in the middle” attacks. This solution requires that a certified certificate be installed on the computer of the recipient. This can provide another layer of security.
https://empirevdr.com/dangers-of-using-email-for-exchanging-confidential-documents/
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