How IT Teams Can Help Foster a Security-Conscious Culture

These best practices can help you train employees on how to more securely share files.

Preparing employees with the knowledge to properly share files and understand security best practices is the responsibility of every IT department. To help prevent data breaches and leaks, you must train your coworkers to share files more securely. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best methods for teaching employees how to share files without compromising data.

The Risks of Insecure File Sharing

File sharing is a great way to collaborate and communicate with your colleagues, clients and partners. But it can also be a risky business if you don’t do it securely. Insecure file sharing can expose your data to hackers, competitors or others who may have malicious intentions.

Some of the risks of insecure file sharing include:

• Data breaches: If you share files over unencrypted or weakly encrypted protocols, such as FTP or HTTP, anyone can intercept and access your data. This can lead to data theft, identity fraud or ransomware attacks.
• Legal and compliance issues: If you share files without proper access control or auditing, you might leak your data to unauthorized parties. This can result in compliance violations, legal issues or competitive disadvantages. Laws like HIPAA and GDPR, and contractual requirements like PCI DSS require strict data security practices. Compromising information means that your organization could face major legal consequences like fines, lawsuits and even criminal charges.
• Dire consequences: In the aftermath of a data breach, your team will have to contain the incident, investigate how it happened and fix any issues. This costs money, time and resources that could have been spent on normal business activities. Employees may also feel distressed and angry or lose trust in the organization.

Training Employees on Proper File-Sharing Procedures

The risks we’ve outlined far outweigh any benefits of taking shortcuts on security. Educating your staff on responsible file-sharing procedures is one of the best ways to mitigate these threats. Here are some tips for effective employee education:

Focus on the Why

Explain to employees why security measures matter. Share examples of the damage caused by data breaches at other companies to drive the importance of proper protocols home. Discuss how vulnerable data can lead to identity theft, financial fraud and client harm. Help them understand that security is everyone’s responsibility.

Keep It Simple

Don’t overwhelm employees with complex policies and procedures. Provide straightforward guidelines in an easy-to-understand format, with visual aids when possible. For file sharing, focus on core principles like:

• Only share files with authorized individuals.
• Use company-approved file-sharing services.
• Password-protect and encrypt sensitive documents.
• Never share login credentials.

Equip Employees with a Secure File-Sharing Solution

One way your IT department can simplify the security strategy is by vetting and selecting a secure file sharing solution that meets your company’s needs and then properly training the staff on how to use it. Having one recommended software solution will help your team monitor ongoing usage and provide guidance in a streamlined fashion.

Offer Practical Examples

Walk through common scenarios employees may encounter, demonstrating the right and wrong ways to share information. For instance, show how to properly share a document with a colleague at another firm versus accidentally sharing a file with unauthorized external users. Provide opportunities for employees to ask questions about any gray areas they may face.

Monitor and Review

Once employee training is complete, monitor file-sharing activity to verify that it complies with procedures. Provide follow-up training and constructive feedback as needed. Review policies annually and update them to account for changes in technology, risks and compliance standards. Implement spot checks and simulated phishing campaigns to identify and address employee vulnerabilities.

Implementing Secure File-Sharing Solutions

In addition to training your staff about procedures, you must also educate them on how to use secure file sharing solutions. Consider these tips:

• Conduct interactive training sessions, both live and recorded, to walk through how the tools work and proper usage guidelines. Require employees to complete the training and any certification to help reinforce understanding.
• Provide easy-to-follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) and documentation on your company intranet. Include visual aids like screenshots, diagrams and videos. Review and update resources regularly to account for any changes.
• Send routine reminders about security best practices for sharing and storing files. Repeat the “why” behind the policies to keep employees motivated. You might say something like, “Remember, properly securing files helps protect our company and customer data.”
• Lead by example through your own actions and communications. Model the kind of security-focused behaviors and mindset you want to see from your staff.

Monitoring File-Sharing Activity and Addressing Violations

Monitoring how employees are using your file-sharing system is key to maintaining security. As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets managed.” Regularly check on the following areas:

User Activity Reports

Review reports that show file access, uploads, downloads and sharing by users. Look for any unusual spikes in activity or access to sensitive data by unauthorized individuals. It’s a good idea to spot-check user activity on a weekly or monthly basis to verify that proper security protocols are being followed.

Violation Alerts

Your file-sharing solution should provide alerts when potential violations are detected, like a user exceeding a maximum number of file downloads in a day or accessing files they do not have permission to view. Be sure to promptly address any violation alerts to help avoid data breaches or loss of information. Speak with the user in question and re-educate them on proper security procedures if needed. Repeated violations may require a temporary restriction of system access.

Audits

Perform regular audits of file-sharing activity, permissions and user access. Check that users can only access the data and files necessary for their job function(s). Look for dormant user accounts and disable them. Review sharing links and passwords for appropriate access. Audits help provide an overall assessment of how well your file security governance strategy is being implemented.

Concluding Thoughts

Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered so far:

A file-sharing policy that covers the myriad aspects of security is essential for your employees to follow proper protocols. Begin by defining what sharing practices are allowed and what are prohibited. For instance, you’ll want to promote sharing files within the company network or an approved cloud service with proper access controls, using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible. On the other hand, practices like sharing files through services like personal email, messaging apps or social media should be discouraged.

Then, teach your team why security is important. Explain how careless practices can lead to data breaches, privacy violations and even legal trouble. Provide real-world examples of the consequences of such incidents. Your employees will be more likely to comply if they understand the logic behind the rules.

It’s also important to provide clear guidance on how to share and access files correctly. Show approved services and features step by step. Highlight options like view-only access and expiration dates for extra security. Offer opportunities for questions for more complete understanding.

Check compliance and re-educate as needed. Look for unauthorized sharing services or weak passwords in use and address issues immediately. Require regular policy reviews and quizzes to keep security top of mind. Stay up to date with the latest best practices and update your policy accordingly.

Educating your team on security best practices doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Focus on the basics, provide practical examples and resources they can refer to whenever needed and make the training engaging and interactive. When employees feel empowered with the right knowledge and tools, they are more likely to do their part to strengthen your organization’s security posture.

The information provided on this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Any reader who needs legal advice should contact their counsel to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user or browser of this content should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information herein without first seeking legal advice from counsel in their relevant jurisdiction.