Security is #1

“I contacted the FBI and told them that I had been scammed out of $50,000 for my business. They told me that while they would look into the matter, they had too many cases in the million dollar range to take care of mine.”

The above quote is loosely adapted from an NPR report on data fraud in business-to-business (BTB) transactions. Fraudsters have moved their focus from consumers to businesses as of late, and losses are estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

In a business transaction, internal audit, or any number of data transfer events, security needs to be the top priority. When pages and pages of files are required to fulfill these tasks, time is usually of the essence. Clients and companies alike will feel a need to cut corners, or to avoid due diligence. Don’t let this happen to you, and don’t work with anyone who falls into this category.

The emergence of Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the newest way that companies lie to themselves, and allow security gaps to open. While DRM is an effective tool for sharing information, and then effectively deleting it (e.g. a remote shredding), it’s one of the easiest security measures to circumvent.

We need to re-examine all of the security measures we use in our businesses, and DRM is not alone in that focus. Where are the security gaps in DRM? What other forms of security are actually false positives in this same way? Where can we make business security watertight?

Where DRM falls short

Have you ever turned a PDF into a word document? This is easy nowadays, thanks to a technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Coupled with the incredible complexity of smartphone cameras, a bad actor can take an image of your document and turn it into their own copy, only by bringing it up on screen.

Thanks to this quick workaround, your DRM-protected documents aren’t protected at all. While they may prevent the casual hacker from copying and pasting, or illegally downloading, important files, they can’t prevent a criminal with basic abilities from sharing your confidential information.

Multiple Forms of Protection

At Vault Rooms, we add on more layers of protection than just DRM or password entry. One of our favorite methods is dynamic watermarking, which allows text or imagery to be overlaid on a secure document, discouraging would-be hackers from distributing the information, and subjecting them to prosecution as a result.

Our clients repeatedly emphasize dynamic watermarking as their favorite aspect of our security process. Our use of color, transparency, and unique information like IP address gives clients the maximum level of security they can achieve in the digital space.

But, even with DRM, watermarking, and a host of other support pieces, absolute protection is a myth in the digital sphere. A hard copy remains the only line of defense when you must keep the necessary file secure. Make sure someone viewing the document is approved to be there. Make sure their phone camera isn’t sticking out of their front pocket. Wearing a trendy new pair of smart glasses? Take ‘em off. There is no limit to how far someone may go to steal your information and assets. Go the extra mile.

Vault Rooms – A Leading Virtual Data Room Provider

Vault Rooms has facilitated tens of thousands of global M&A events in any and every industry over its 13 year history. We serve accountants, private equity firms, banks, brokers, investment bankers, and more, allowing them secure access and advisory measures in organization, collaboration, and company sales. We work around the clock, and allow you to do the same as well, every hour of the day and every week of the year.

Contact V-Rooms today to answer your sales and support questions.

About the Author

Karen Perkins is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vault Rooms, Inc. She is a troubleshooter, problem solver, and efficiency expert. Her career experiences have provided a broad foundation of skills that make her uniquely qualified to assist companies with their growth, transition, and operational improvement. She advocates for the use of simple and secure technology tools designed to make work and life easier with the Super S.M.A.R.T. Women platform. Likewise, her company, Vault Rooms, is a technology platform for the simple and secure sharing of business-critical files.