Whether you’re operating as a business entity, an individual, or simply trying to keep track of your personal information, you must protect yourself online. Sending and receiving sensitive documents is part of everyday life, and you must do this safely. If you don’t, you put yourself at risk for identity theft, fraud, and other similar crimes.
It can be difficult nowadays to tell which services are secure and which aren’t, especially in a world where you can only sometimes trust the people who claim to be on your side. According to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC), state-sponsored actors attacked Microsoft’s operating system, which affected more than 30,000 organizations in the U.S.
The problem is that many companies use outdated encryption standards, making their services vulnerable to attack. Fortunately, there are some ways you can protect yourself from malicious hackers and prevent challenges in data security. To help you with this, here are a few tips you should consider using:
- Use Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a tool that can help protect your data from hackers. You’d need to access an account with two different pieces of information: a password and a code generated by an app or sent to your phone via text message.
This means that if someone has one piece of your login information, they can’t get into your account without the other. It’s a great way to protect yourself from hackers and gives you an extra layer of security in case you lose one of your devices or passwords.
- Use Online Fax Services
Fax is another way to send and receive documents online securely. You can still fax traditionally using a machine. Alternatively, you can also use online fax services like MyFax. Online fax services allow you to send and receive documents from your device. Unlike emails, your data remains private since it’s not stored on any physical server owned by the company providing the service.
- Use End-To-End Encryption
End-to-end encryption is a security measure that protects the content of your messages and their metadata, like whom you sent them to and when. It’s an extra layer of security that prevents anyone from accessing your messages except for the person you sent them to. This is particularly important for people who send sensitive information via messaging apps, such as journalists, lawyers, activists, and people in the political community.
- Use An HTTPS Website
A website that uses an HTTPS connection ensures that your data is encrypted. This makes it much harder for hackers to access and steal your information. The ‘S’ stands for ‘secure’ and can be seen in the address bar of any website with an HTTPS connection (as opposed to HTTP). When you see this, your data is protected by secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption.
However, there are a few limitations. While an HTTPS connection will protect you from hackers, it doesn’t protect you from your internet service provider (ISP). ISPs can see the websites you visit and when you access them. So, if you’re concerned about your privacy, consider using a VPN or Tor to mask your IP address and location.
- Set Documents To Expire
Setting your documents to expire is a great feature that allows you to protect your files from unauthorized access. You can set the expiration date for any Excel, Word, or PowerPoint document. When a file expires, it will automatically close and disappear from view. This is a helpful security feature if you’re working with sensitive data and don’t want anyone else to see it after a specific time.
- Check For Security Patches Regularly
If you’re using Google Docs and other online apps, you must know that they can be hacked. Hackers use malware to infect your computer with viruses or spyware, which allows them to access your device remotely.
Once infected, hackers can access all of the information on your device and any files stored in the cloud. To prevent this from happening, update your antivirus software regularly and make sure it’s up-to-date with the latest security patches.
While all the points above are the most secure way to send and receive documents online, you may also want to know why you should send and receive documents online. Here are the benefits:
- You don’t have to worry about losing copies of your documents.
- You can send and receive documents from anywhere worldwide as long as you have internet access on your device.
- Documents are automatically saved online, so there’s no need to print them out or save them manually.
- The process is faster than sending through traditional means.
- You can also share your documents with multiple people simultaneously instead of sending copies back and forth.
Transferring documents online is helpful, as shown by these benefits. Despite its conveniences, you must be wary of how you send documents to ensure your and the receiver’s safety.
Conclusion
The number of data breaches is growing yearly, and you must take extra measures for your security. There are many ways to protect your data, but knowing what options are available is essential to determine what’s most suitable.
You should also be aware of the risks involved with giving out your information online, especially if your business deals with sensitive or confidential information. This way, you’ll be one step ahead of the hackers.
