Four out of five UK companies have little or no visibility of data movement, a study has revealed.

Half of more than 100 firms polled by Ipswitch File Transfer admitted they have no visibility of files being transferred within and outside their organisation.

A further 30% said they have only limited visibility, despite 64% of respondents saying secure file-sharing was vital to the security of the company data.

“A high level of visibility is critical for any organisation that is serious about protecting its most valuable asset – information,” said Rich Kennelly, president of Ipswitch’s File Transfer division.

“The ability to know who is moving data, where, when, how and why across an enterprise, is crucial, not only for data security,” he said.

Kennelly said data management and visibility is also important for streamlined workflows that improve productivity, and meeting compliance requirements.

Regarding who should be blamed if valuable or confidential company data file are sent or shared unsecured, 52% of respondents said it was a collective responsibility.

More than a third said accountability should lie with the employees; 7% said management should be blamed for not having robust policies in place; and just 3% said IT departments were to blame.

“We’re seeing a real shift in attitude, understanding and acceptance of managed file transfer technologies,” said Kennelly.

“Users know that information is at the core of their business and crucial to its existence, competitive advantage and longevity.”

The survey shows there is now greater understanding that efficient data security demands collective responsibility.

However, Kennelly said users cannot play their part unless the business provides easy-to-use, accessible and simple solutions that make their jobs easier.

The survey reveals that moving sensitive information by email is most prevalent, with 44% admitting to sending classified or confidential materials by email at least once a day.

Almost half admitted to using personal email accounts to send company files, with 21% blaming the slowness of work email, difficulties in connecting and limited file sizes.

Some 11% said they used personal email because their company did not monitor what they send and 8% admitted keeping business documents to use at their next place of work.

More than a quarter of respondents admitted using unsecured file-sharing websites and cloud services to share work-related files, while almost two-thirds confess to using USB drives, smartphones, tablets and other personal devices for backing up corporate files.

About Us

Pro2col are a Certified Ipswitch Elite Reseller based in the UK.  Since 2003 we have been helping companies of all shapes and sizes to tackle their data transfer challenges and maximise their investment in secure managed file transfer products.  If you’d like to know more about how to attain full visibility and control over the data moving into, out of and around your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0333 123 1240.

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Pro2col had the pleasure of assisting on the Globalscape stand, on what is traditionally the busiest day. With Chaz and Chris Thacker both providing demos the stand was busy and the message was coming through loud and clear; IT Professionals want a Dropbox Alternative.

A study by security distributor e92plus that I read at the show highlighted that some 76% of IT Professionals in the UK had Dropbox at the top of its list of banned
technologies. This was very much reflected by the conversations we had and the demonstrations of Globalscape solutions provided.

The most popular solution by far was Mail Express. Visitors loved the web based functionality and MicroSoft Outlook plugin. The Drop Off Portal also proved a big success as IT admins learned how they could provide a hands off facility for large files to come into the business without the need for setting up FTP accounts or clogging up email servers with attachments.

If you’d like to learn more about how Globalscape solutions could help your business Replace Dropbox, contact Globalscape’s UK Master Partner here.

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Businesses face a real threat – their employees. That’s right, increasingly tech-savvy employees have turned to a diverse range of file transfer tools that are beyond the sight of IT management.

Employees see webmail, file sharing services, cloud storage, USB sticks and smart devices as easier to use than traditional corporate tools to transfer files. But this trend ignores the security risks and regulatory implications of using file transfer methods entirely outside of corporate control.

Here’s five things you should know about your employees’ habits and the need for secure file transfer technology:

1. Insecure means are used to send confidential files.  Recent surveys we have run to monitor user behaviour found that a vast majority (84%) of respondents send classified or confidential information through corporate email attachments. Of those, 72% do this at least weekly and 52% daily. That means employees are using unsanctioned tools in record numbers, resulting in a lack of visibility and control.

2. Many employees use personal email to send company documents and data.  Users may think they can’t afford delays or slowdowns associated with jumping through perceived hoops to send out information and files that keep business humming. And if the business doesn’t provide the tools they need to send large and confidential attachments, or if the processes and technologies are too difficult to use, then users will take matters into their own hands – and their own email.

3. Employees are using consumer-grade file transfer services for business purposes.  If the corporate email system limits the size of file attachments or if IT vetoes service requests, resourceful employees don’t throw up their hands in resignation: they look for workarounds. And the growing popularity of file transfer sites and cloud services aimed at consumers is making it easier for business users to sidestep IT. More than half of the users we surveyed admitted they use these services.

4. Risk of data theft is high.  When business users aren’t turning to personal email accounts or free file-sharing services, they may be putting files on USB thumb drives, smartphones or other external devices. Unfortunately, our market research shows that almost one-third of users had lost a USB device, smartphone or other external device containing business or personal information – a tremendous risk for any organisation.

5. IT Management Visibility into Data Management is Low, Putting Businesses at Risk.  Most companies create and maintain policies that mandate the use of approved tools for moving and sharing information. However, our research shows fewer than 32% strictly enforce these policies, making these mandates largely meaningless. No visibility means no compliance with internal policies or external regulations and laws.

The file sharing habits of employees can be risky but is driven by their desire to get work done. The business need and IT desire to control file sharing is equally important. Fortunately, companies don’t have to choose between risky behaviour and productivity. Using secure file transfer technology, employees can get the convenience, ease-of-use, and speed they need while IT and the business get the control, visibility, security and compliance they need.

Click here to download a free report, published by Ipswitch File Transfer that provides insights into causes and trends in risky data and file sharing, ways in which IT has fallen behind in safeguarding information, plus the associated dangers and proven means to safeguard corporate data without impeding user productivity.

Pro2col are a certified Ipswitch File Transfer Elite Reseller and have been working with Ipswitch since 2010 to supply, deploy and support their range of managed file transfer solutions to UK businesses.  If you like more information on secure managed file transfer, don’t hesitate to contact us.

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MOVEit Ad Hoc ensures secure sending and receiving of sensitive files and messages between individuals and groups. It provides peace of mind for businesses sharing mission critical digital information with their employees, partners and customers using Outlook or any simple browser interface. A recent Ipswitch study reveals that more than a third of people sharing information are doing so insecurely, through personal email or consumer file-sharing sites. MOVEit Ad Hoc provides a simple yet secure solution to sharing files which avoids this increasingly prevalent risky behaviour.

For over 20 years Ipswitch has been a leader in providing secure Managed File Transfer solutions. So it is an honour to be recognised by SC Magazine, not just for ourselves, but on behalf of the many businesses and industries that already depend upon Ipswitch File Transfer to protect their most valuable and sensitive information. It’s also particularly rewarding for MOVEit Ad Hoc to be recognised on the heels of our recent launch – our easy-to-use, IT-approved, person to person file transfer solution.

SC Magazine is the world’s largest dedicated IT security publication, serving the industry for over 15 years. The SC Awards Europe is among the most coveted and prestigious accolades for the information security industry, honouring vendors that deliver the most innovative security technologies.

A panel of industry judges from the information security profession will now pass judgement on the products and services put before them, including Ipswitch File Transfer MOVEit Ad Hoc. Review the shortlist for every category here. Read the latest awards build-up and coverage here. Book tickets for the event here, and find out more about MOVEit Ad Hoc here.

Guest Blog by Jeff  Whitney, Vice President of Marketing, Ipswitch File Transfer

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Writing on his blog on this Monday, Nir Goldshalger announced that he had previously uncovered a hole affecting Accellion Secure File Transfer appliance that would allow an attacker to gain control of a users account with little more than their email address account.

A closer look at the date on the video at the bottom of his blog article (19th March 2012) and when the problem was patched (patch 9_1_166 released on 20th March 2012) would suggest that Nir did in fact identify this vulnerability, meaning that Facebook Bug Bounty Program is a worthwhile exercise.  It also demonstrates that Accellion took the issue seriously, quickly and efficiently addressing the problem when it came to light.

Software is rarely ever without flaws but all vendors do their best to ensure products don’t reach the market with problems and when they do, responding quickly is the key to maintaining brand integrity.  This also goes to highlight how important it is for customers to update the software patches released by vendors in a timely manner.  Nir was likely paid for his research and held off releasing this information for nine months, whilst I expect Accellion made a concerted effort to ensure all customers were running the latest versions of software. It will no doubt have a small negative impact on Accellion’s brand image but on the plus side, it appears to show that Accellion handled the matter in a professional manner.

Ad Hoc file transfer is one of the largest segments of the managed file transfer industry and we’re pleased to be working with some of the industries leading brands. With solutions from Biscom, Ipswitch, Globalscape and more, we at Pro2col are able to help you choose the right product to fit your feature requirement and budget limitations.  To speak to an ad hoc file transfer consultant call Pro2col today on 0333 123 1240.

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Micheal Osterman of Osterman Research succinctly summarises some of the key issues surrounding personal file sharing in his white paper, “Business-Class File Sharing Best Practices”.  Here is an excerpt from the paper:

Excerpted from “Business-Class File Sharing Best Practices”

The Status Quo Doesn’t Work

If you’d like to learn more about secure file sharing practices, you can access the full Osterman whitepaper here.  Alternatively, if you’d like to discuss your specific file sharing challenges with one of our managed file transfer experts, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0333 123 1240.

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On a similar note, this is the ideal moment to publically release our lastest e-book: The Council’s Guide to Secure Managed File Transfer, which is now available for download.  It covers a range of issues surrounding the secure movement within councils including:

If you’re at the conference and would like to speak to one of our managed file transfer experts, drop by stand 8 (piccy attached) – we’re always happy to help.  If you’ve not been able to make it this year and you’d like to talk to us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the office on 0333 123 1240.

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The mounting costs generated by work duplication and management overheads, accompanied by the risk associated with the absence of failover was becoming a genuine concern.  Bearing in mind that these systems were executing business critical processes such as billing, debt management, banking and delivering mission dependent data to employees in the field – recreating these undocumented workflows in the event of a disaster would be costly.  Considering the sensitive nature of certain pieces of data moving through these workflows, securing data was also a priority.

Pro2col worked alongside the customer to develop an understanding of their processes and document their key requirements.  Armed with this information, we were able to identify the technologies that would meet these requirements, and help them through the selection and evaluation process.  Specifically, the company were looking to:

1. Secure the sending and receipt of confidential business and customer data
2. To further automate the retrieval of time sensitive data from remote systems to provide realtime updates of vital information to their workforce at regular intervals throughout the day.

In terms of features, the company were looking for:

Based upon the information we gathered through the consultancy process, we were able to recommend the most suitable solution to meet their objectives – in this case, a combination of Ipswitch MOVEit Central and MOVEit DMZ with the Ad Hoc Module.  MOVEit Central was specifically designed to automate a wide range of mission critical file transfers, enabling the company to automatically “pull, process, and push” all files to any platform, including network architectures, operating systems, and protocols.  It would integrate directly into their existing data workflows, consolidating their automated file transfer tasks and allowing IT staff to create/administer them via a user friendly GUI interface.  For the ad hoc aspect of their file transfer requirements, MOVEit DMZ with the ad hoc module provided a secure, end to end solution for employees to send and receive mission critical files.

This just gives you an idea of the potential of these solutions and the levels of automation that can be achieved.  Within an enterprise environment such as a large utility company, an managed file transfer solution can save hours of manual processing and ensure that all the information is where they need it, when they need it.  As with all of our customers, we’ll be working with this organisation in the months and years to come, and look forward to helping them achieve their maximum ROI.

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The question is; why are SMB’s being targeted?  It would appear that the modest budgets available to small companies make them easier targets, giventhe lower level of expenditure on information security technologies.  Especially since SMB’s frequently work as suppliers for larger organisations, making them a more attractive proposition to hackers than the more conventional direct attack on the corporate target.

What does this have to do with managed file transfer I hear you ask?  MFT has generally been considered a technology more appropriate to corporate organisation’s – with its big price tag and grand title.  Times are changing for the MFT marketplace and there are now some very comprehensive solutions available at really competitive prices.  For those SMB’s considering how they should secure data transfers with their larger corporate customers, technologies exist at around the £4,000 mark which provide an equal amount of functionality as many corporate companies have.

To discuss your file transfer requirements, whether you’re an SMB or multi-national organisation, get in touch with Pro2col or give us a call on 0333 123 1240.

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