Security is of the utmost importance for clients in this industry. Every day advisors handle sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, quarterly performance reports, investment account numbers, billing statements and other personally identifiable information (PII). Most financial advisors are aware that this sort of information should never be sent via email, but it’s hard to find a solution that is both secure and easy to use. Advisors are often left playing a balancing act between security and simplicity, which leaves clients frustrated when the software is too cumbersome to use. In an industry where client relations is key, advisors need a service that they can be confident will fulfill security requirements without causing angst.

ShareFile has years of experience working with financial advisors and we’ve created a plan specifically for the financial services industry that addresses security concerns while keeping it simple for clients to use. All of ShareFile’s plans provide a custom-branded client portal area that can be accessed from a customized URL (https://yourcompanyname.sharefile.com). Businesses also have the option to integrate a ShareFile login box that allows clients to login seamlessly from their website. ShareFile protects files during transfer using up to 256-bit AES encryption and SSL or TLS encryption protocols and employs 256-bit AES encryption for files at rest on our servers.

When your clients login to the secure portal, they only have access to their private folders and files. They can choose to be notified when new information is uploaded so they never have to worry about when the next performance report is available. In addition to being able to download documents, ShareFile provides a “Request” function that helps clients upload information back to their advisors.

To find out more about ShareFile plans for financial services, visit our industry page or contact our sales team at sales@sharefile.com. Our knowledgeable team would be happy to help you customize the solution for your firm.

Want to know how? Check out the ShareFile security infographic below to learn about our physical and data storage protection, user controls, and advanced mobility features.

Cloud computing has been widely accepted as a means for data storage, among other services. Moving to the cloud can be a smart business move, but do you know what questions to ask of a cloud service provider?

Lipson discusses the fear around cloud computing and offers some practical advice for companies thinking about moving business functions to the cloud. Read the full article, “Is Your Data Safe In The Cloud?” to learn more.

Interested in hearing more from the VP & GM of  the Data Sharing product group at Citrix? Follow Jesse Lipson on Twitter.

SaaS: Software as a service (SaaS) is a model for cloud computing where software and data are hosted remotely on the software provider’s servers. Users connect to the service via the Internet. Web-based email clients are a popular example of SaaS, allowing users to log in to their inbox from an Internet browser rather than opening an installed client on their desktop.

Uptime: Storing data in the cloud is only helpful if you can get to information when you need it. Cloud service providers should be able to give you an idea of how reliable their service has been in the past. Uptime guarantees should account for scheduled maintenance that may affect the availability of the service.

Encryption: Business-focused cloud services will have security measures in place to protect data from being intercepted or hacked. For peace of mind, make sure that your provider encrypts data during transfer to and from their servers. If you send, upload, or download information with the service, it should be protected. Many providers will also encrypt your information while it is at rest on their servers.

Data Portability: Business needs change, and you may find that you need to retrieve all of your data from a cloud provider someday. Ask providers if it is possible to completely remove your information should you no longer require the service or decide to move to a different provider.

While you continue to use the service, ensure that you can remove any data that is out of date or no longer in use. A service should allow you to completely remove files so that you don’t have information stored when it’s no longer necessary.

Redundancy: A cloud service provider should have detailed plans for managing disaster scenarios. While your own business may be tied to a specific location, many SaaS providers maintain multiple server locations and back up data for their primary servers to protect again data loss. Ask providers how they would manage a server failure to verify that they have the infrastructure to get the service back online in a reasonable timeframe.

BYOD: “Bring Your Own Device” has become a popular phrase. As consumers buy tablets and phones to increase connectivity, they naturally want to integrate work functions with their new mobile devices.

Businesses are smart to allow employees to use mobile devices for work. Working remotely can improve productivity and lead to a happier workforce. In order to take advantage of the benefits of convenient mobile work, companies can look into securing their mobile workflow so that data security is not compromised.

Visit ShareFile to learn more about how our secure, cloud-based file transfer solution can benefit your business.

It’s imperative that firm leaders conduct a careful review of their risk in handling confidential client information and ensure that they have appropriate tools and controls in place to manage the risk. It’s critical to understand that email alone, in the absence of additional protective measures, is inherently insecure and inadequate. Transmitting client information via email attachment does not meet the specified legal requirements and fails to live up to the certified public accountant (CPA) commitment to client confidentiality. Alternative means of electronic document transfer must be used.

The Problem of Transmitting Sensitive Client Information: Protection of Confidential Information

For anyone who has ever worked in an accounting firm in any capacity, part of the day one orientation deals with the importance of protecting client confidentiality. CPAs have always, and quite correctly, taken their obligation to safeguard sensitive client information very seriously. In the not too distant past, most of this information existed in paper form, and its transmission was either physical (through the mail or hand delivered) or verbal over the phone. Safeguarding this type of information was relatively straightforward, and most firms had well thought out policies to ensure security. Today, of course, the world is no longer so simple. Firms of all sizes have the prospect of working globally with a highly mobile workforce and client base, and handling information may exist only electronically. Working efficiently in this environment, while still maintaining the highest standards of client confidentiality, is a far more difficult challenge.

To learn more about how to restore security and improve workflow, read this whitepaper on client confidentiality, written by Ken McCall of Boomer Consulting and Laura Ivey of ShareFile. This paper will review some of the major components of the risk associated with handling confidential client information and suggest ways to mitigate it.

Still have questions or want to learn how to protect your clients’ confidentiality? Give us a call today 1-800-441-3453.

Backups

ShareFile employs multiple backup measures to minimize data loss in the event of natural disaster, terrorism, fire or any other unexpected event that could result in the destruction of the hardware that hosts the service.

Disaster Recovery

Client files are backed up to a disaster recovery data center on a continuous basis. In the event of a natural disaster or catastrophic hardware failure at the primary data center that services an account, resources at the disaster recovery data center can be brought online to minimize the disruption to the service.

Redundant File Storage

All client files are mirrored in real-time to a primary and secondary storage location. In the event of a failure in the primary storage location, the secondary location is used automatically.

Security

-ShareFile software has been created with security in mind. Each user in the system has a unique login and password. All user-created passwords are hashed in the ShareFile database, meaning that not even ShareFile support personnel have the ability to determine a user’s password.

-All uploaded files are scanned by anti-virus software. Any files that are flagged as potential viruses are denoted with a red exclamation point icon within the application, and a warning will be displayed before attempting to download these files.

-All communications between ShareFile and the user are encrypted using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. This is the same industry-standard protocol used by online banking and popular e-commerce services such as Amazon.com for secure communication over the Internet.

-Each of ShareFile’s data centers has attained third-party SSAE 16 certification, which verifies all data center facilities operate with strict security procedures.

While it’s tempting to consider a file sharing and storage service that is promoted as free or feels like a real “steal,” always check with the company on their disaster recovery, redundant file storage and security policies. If they aren’t forthcoming on how they will secure, manage and store your data, consider what costs – missed deadlines, lost revenue, forfeit of competitive advantage and damage to your corporate brand – that might present down the road.

The “cloud” can provide the solution to your file exchange troubles. Software-as-service (SaaS) is a common way in which attorneys enter the cloud. Using a web-based secure file transfer solution, like ShareFile by Citrix, , law firms can enjoy file sharing, tracking capabilities and storage. With ShareFile, you can be confident that your data is sent securely and in compliance with legal regulations regarding the privacy and security of confidential information. All files are transmitted with SSL encryption- so forget about risking confidential information by transferring files with your flash drive. ShareFile also offers a full suite of mobile apps for file sharing on the go, so your data can follow you wherever you go.

Want to explore more? Sign up for your free trial today and learn why 99% of Fortune 500 companies are ShareFile users.

Our support and account management teams frequently work with account administrators who want to learn more about best practices for maintaining security. Here are a few of the features that many administrators have found helpful:

Always require passwords for download – ShareFile offers flexible settings for upload and download links that you send from your account. You can require recipients to login when sending confidential files, but you can also send links without requiring users to log in if extra security is not necessary.

If you find that you really always want the links that you send from your ShareFile account to require log in, your account settings can be changed so that any links will require a user name and password for download. To make this change, please contact your account manager or ShareFile Support for assistance.

Limit how many times a download link will work- When you send a link to a file, you can make sure that the link will only allow a single download. This prevents your recipient from sharing the file that you sent by forwarding the link to another person.

When you click ‘Send’ or ‘Send a File’, there is a drop down menu to specify the ‘Downloads per user’ right on the Send screen. If you do plan to limit the number of times that the link will work, we recommend using the ‘Message’ field to enter a custom note to the recipient letting them know about the limitation. This will prevent any need to send the link to them again if they close the file without saving it.

Require strong passwords- ShareFile can enforce custom password requirements for your account. If you would prefer to have stricter policies in place for the length or content of passwords, or to enforce regular password updates, you can make these changes in the ‘Admin’ section. To the right of the Admin page click ‘Password Policy’ to see all of the available options and change your current settings to reflect the policy that you would like to have in place.

Display a non-disclosure agreement on your login page – To discourage users from distributing information stored on your account, you can place a non-disclosure agreement directly on the login page. You can use any text that you would like so that your confidentiality agreement will be completely relevant to your company and data.

In order to add login page text, you can log in to your account and click on the ‘Admin’ link in the top navigation bar. On the Admin screen, click ‘Edit Custom Branding’ to the right of the screen. If you expand the ‘Miscellaneous’ section, you can paste all of your non-disclosure text into the ‘Login Page Text’ field. This text will display right on your login page.

Do you have any questions about which features are the best fit for your account? Feel free to contact your account manager or support for help. If you don’t have an account and would like to see how ShareFile can help you send large files securely, sign up for a 30 day free trial!