Email Limitations

Email has revolutionised business. There are countless benefits to email, including the capacity for instant communication, the ability to access conversations remotely, and to reference exact details of communication. It is a method of getting your message across immediately and effectively with a quicker response time than your average postal letter. The impact this has on business is huge, we are able to move and work at a speed that would never have been possible before.Despite the universal acceptance of email as the primary method of communication for operations within organisations as well as with clients and customers, there are still limitations to its usefulness. File sharing, in particular, can be problematic when using email.Email isn’t secure, it cannot handle larger files or content very well nor was it created to. Most organisations require the ability to share documents securely and in many situations the content that needs sharing is sensitive and would benefit from being kept private. Many businesses create email policies that restrict the use of attaching large files to emails for these reasons.The limitations attached to emailing procedures within organisations means that users must have a viable alternative when they need to send larger files across the web. For many, this might involve an ad hoc solution, such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Whilst these services do offer some benefits, they too often leave sensitive documents without the level of the protection that they need.Cloud services such Dropbox are desirable because they are incredibly easy to use and their accessibility means that they are a low stress option for staff. However, they can become very expensive and the risk of compliance breach is very, very high. There are frequent tales of poor security surrounding cloud services such as these and as they are often used in an ad hoc manner they therefore do not fit into the governance requirements of an organisation.Another fall back solution for staff would be the use of removable media, but due to the easy security beech of human error it is unadvisable to store high profile and sensitive data or information on a device that could be so easily stolen or lost.

Client Based Solutions

There are three client solutions that are most often referred to when solving the issue of file sharing and in order to understand Cryptshare and its functionality, it is important to recognise the limitations of other problem solving ideas.Firstly it is possible to use encrypted email (S/MIME or PGP), however it is expensive both to buy and to run and incredibly complex. It does offer a high strength in security but at a loss of flexibility in its function.The encryption of file attachments and emails is end to end, which ensures security, but the reality of the matter is that in most businesses there is a need for transfer to third party companies which encryption wouldn’t allow for. It’s initial set up is also very complex and time consuming making it unfavourable as an option.Secondly there is the possibility of secure FTP. Secure FTP does have the benefit of running from within the firewall and it does offer strong short term security due to its encryption in transit and in storage, however it has poor long term management of the data store.It is more expensive and complex to install than regular FTP and create SFTP can add a burden on corporate IT infrastructure and on IT staff to manage and administrate the client. In addition to this, SFTP tends to be updated infrequently making it vulnerable to current threats and it also requires some level of training before it can be used.Finally there is the option of Managed File Transfer (MFT) Solutions. They offer a comprehensive functionality despite being expensive to license, install and manage, and their security is very high. The encryption is strong (if complicated) and the added bonus of strong control is offered with additional policy tool and options.However this level of complexity can creates issues as MFT Solutions do require training which introduces a further element of cost and time in implementation.

Cryptshare Capabilities

Cryptshare can be introduced here as a comprehensive solution to the limitations of traditional email. As opposed to the competing solutions listed above it requires no training and can be used by anybody that has a knowledge and familiarity with any basic email system. It is a highly secure system that offers a comprehensible audit trail of the senders of emails, to whom, and with what information. It also provides clear notifications to senders for a myriad of different tasks: when a file has been received, when an email has been opened etc.Cryptshare is often used via a plug-in to your e-mail system so that it is immediately available when needed but also enables the secure sharing of information from any device with a browser and on which e-mail is used. This aid of accessibility stretches to any device that has a browser and email capabilities, for example PDA’s, iPads, smartphones and tablets. This feature is limited to read-only but allows your companies documents to be shared safely, securely and remotely.There are many benefits to implementing Cryptshare in your workplace, many of which can be seen summarised on the Cryptshare website. They aim to solve the flaws of email without dispensing of email altogether, calling email a ‘solution.’ Cryptshare is simple, cost effective and its user interface and help functions can be modified to help ensure that your policies are being followed. The more sophisticated functions within Cryptshare, such as the user defined policies, are still simple and straight forward to use.For more information on IT Infrastructure and Implementation, contact us today by calling 0843 523 6542 or contacting us online.