CONVERSATIONAL FILE TRANSFERS AND DATA SECURITY · Greetings Earthlings! When it comes to the world of IT, there are a few philosophies that seem to be universally true. No, I’m

CONVERSATIONALFILETRANSFERSANDDATA

SECURITY

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ConversationalFileTransfersandDataSecurity

ByBrienPosey

©2017ConversationalGeek®

ConversationalFileTransfersandDataSecurityPublishedbyConversationalGeek®Inc.

www.conversationalgeek.com

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookshallbereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.Nopatentliabilityisassumedwithrespecttotheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.Althougheveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherandauthorassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions.Norisanyliabilityassumedfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.

TrademarksConversationalGeek,theConversationalGeeklogoandJ.theGeekaretrademarksofConversationalGeek®.Alltermsmentionedinthisbookthatareknowntobetrademarksorservicemarkshavebeenappropriatelycapitalized.Wecannotattesttotheaccuracyofthisinformation.Useofaterminthisbookshouldnotberegardedasaffectingthevalidityofanytrademarkorservicemark.

WarningandDisclaimerEveryefforthasbeenmadetomakethisbookascompleteandasaccurateaspossible,butnowarrantyorfitnessisimplied.Theinformationprovidedisonan“asis”basis.Theauthorandthepublishershallhaveneitherliabilitynorresponsibilitytoanypersonorentitywithrespecttoanylossordamagesarisingfromtheinformationcontainedinthisbookorprogramsaccompanyingit.

AdditionalInformationForgeneralinformationonourotherproductsandservices,orhowtocreateacustomConversationalGeekbookforyourbusinessororganization,pleasevisitourwebsiteatConversationalGeek.com

PublisherAcknowledgments

Allofthefolksresponsibleforthecreationofthisguide:

Author: BrienPosey

ProjectEditor: J.PeterBruzzese

CopyEditor: JohnRugh

ContentReviewer: KarlaReina

NotefromtheAuthor

GreetingsEarthlings!

WhenitcomestotheworldofIT,thereareafewphilosophiesthatseemtobeuniversallytrue.No,I’mnottalkingaboutMoore’sLaw.I’mtalkingaboutsimplerphilosophieslike“garbagein,garbageout”orPICNICerrors.Fortheuninitiated,PICNICstandsfor“ProblemInChair,NotInComputer”.

Puttingallthejokesaside,oneofthemostfundamentaltruthslearnedoverthelastseveraldecades,isthatdataismuchmoreusefulwhenitisshared.Thinkaboutit…Ifthatstatementwasn’ttrue,thenwewouldn’thavesocialmediasiteslikeFacebookorcollaborativeplatformsforbusiness,likeSharePoint.

Thequestionisnotdowewanttosharedata(ofcoursewedo).Thequestionishowdoweaccomplishthistaskwithoutcompromisingquality,securityandahostofotherfilesharingworries.Thatiswhatthisbookwillhelptoidentifyandanswer.

Ihopeyouenjoyit!

BrienPosey

The“Conversational”Method

Wehavetwoobjectiveswhenwecreatea“Conversational”book:First,tomakesureit’swritteninaconversationaltonesoit’sfunandeasytoread.Second,tomakesureyou,thereader,canimmediatelytakewhatyoureadandincludeitinyourownconversations(personalorbusiness-focused)withconfidence.

Thesebooksaremeanttoincreaseyourunderstandingofthesubject.Terminology,conceptualideas,trendsinthemarket,andevenfringesubjectmatterarebroughttogethertoensureyoucanengageyourcustomer,team,co-worker,friendandeventheknow-it-allBestBuygeekonalevelplayingfield.

“GeekintheMirror”Boxes

Weinfusehumorintoourbooksthroughbothcartoonsandlightbanterfromtheauthor.Whenyouseeoneoftheseboxes,it’stheauthorsteppingoutsidethedialogtospeakdirectlytoyou.Itmightbeananecdote,itmightbeapersonalexperienceorgutreactionandanalysis,itmightjustbeasarcasticquip,butthese“geekinthemirror”boxesarenottobeskipped.

WithintheseboxesIcansharejustaboutanythingonthesubjectathand.Read’em!

FileSharing101

Sincethereisobviouslyvalueinsharingdata,thenthenextlogicalquestionbecomes,whatisthebestwaytosharedata?Ofcoursethisseeminglysimplequestiondoesn’talwayshaveasimpleanswer.Therearecountlessmethodsforsharingdata,andeachhasitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.Letmegiveyouanexample.OneofthesimplestmethodsforsharingdataisE-mail.However,E-mailisn’talwaysthebestchoice.E-mailisn’talwayssecure,mailboxescommonlyhaveattachmentsizelimits,themessagemaygetblockedbyspamfilteringorattachmentfiltering,andE-maildoesn’treallyworkforsharingstructured(database)data.

ThepointisthatE-mailworksreallywellincertainsituations,butthereareotherthingsthatitjustdoesn’tdoverywell.Thesamecanbesaidforothermethodsofsharingdata.Takesocialmediaforexample.MostofmyeditorsareonFacebook,butI’mnotexactlyinclinedtogetmynextarticletotheeditorbypostingitscontentonFacebook.Amoreprivatemediumisbettersuitedtothatparticulartask.

WhenIwasakid,myfatherusedtotellmethatitisalwaysimportanttousetheright

toolforthejob.OfcourseatthetimeIwasaMacGyverwannabeandwasalotmore

interestedinimprovising.AsIhavegottenolderhowever,Ihavecometounderstandthewisdomofmyfather’sadviceandalsorealizethattheconceptofusingtheright

toolforthejobisvitaltosuccessintheworldofIT.

Similarly,socialmediasitescansometimestake,shallwesay,certainlibertieswithyourdata.Lastweekforexample,IwasinCanadaflyingaseriesofmicrogravityflightswiththeCanadianNationalResearchCouncil.Sincebeingweightlessisn’tsomethingthatmostpeopledoallthetime,oneoftheguysthatIwasflyingwithcompiledsomeofthevideofootageandpostedittooneofthesocialmediasites.Thevideowasrecordedin4Kandlookedgreat.Oncepostedhowever,thesitedownsampledthevideoinanefforttoreduceitsfilesize.Theendresultwasagrainy,somewhatdistortedvideowithalowframerate.Thepointisthatifyouaremakingdataavailabletoothers,thenyouwantthedatathattheyreceivetobeidenticaltowhatyousent.

FileSharingOptions(from80’stotoday)Filetransfershavebeenapartofcomputingsincetheverybeginning.Evenwaybackinthe1980s,therewerefilecopy

toolsbakedintotheWindowsoperatingsystem.IvividlyrememberasachildusingDOSfunctionssuchastheCopycommandorMicrosoft’sDiskCopytool.ThepointisthattheneedfortransferringfilesfrompointAtopointBhasexistedfordecades(backthenmanyfilecopiesoccurredoffline,usingremovablemedia),andcountlesssolutionsexistforaddressingthisneed.Tothisday,MicrosoftstillbakesfiletransfertoolsintotheWindowsoperatingsystem,buttherearealsoplentyofthirdpartytools,mostofwhichhavecapabilitiesthatfarexceedthoseofthenativeOStools.

IrememberthefirsttimeIheardtheterm‘sneakernet’todescribethephysicaltransferofelectronicinformationusing(atthattime)

floppydisks.Thesedayswehavemoresophisticatedmeans(USBsticks)butthe

termstillapplies!

Therearetwomainthingsthatyouneedtoknowaboutthirdpartyfiletransfertools.First,therearemanydifferentwaysoftransferringfiles.Assuch,filetransfersoftwarecanbecategorizedbasedonthefiletransfermethodthatisbeingused.

Theotherthingtounderstandisthateachvendorhasitsownwayofdoingthings.Eventhoughtwoproductsmighttakethesamebasicapproachtofiletransfers,atleastsomeofeachproduct’sfeaturesareprobablygoingtobeunique.Theremayalsobesignificantdifferencesbetweenotherwisesimilarproductsthathavenothingtodowiththefeatureset.Forinstance,ProductAmightuseamoreefficienttransferalgorithmthanProductB.Similarly,ProductBmightbemoresecurethanproductA.Thepointisthattherecansometimesbemajordifferencesbetweenseeminglysimilarfiletransfertools.

Forthepurposesofthisbook,Iamgoingtoavoiddoinganysortofheadtoheadvendorcomparison.Theresimplyisn’tenoughspaceinashortbooktoobjectivelycomparealloftheleadingfiletransferproducts.Soratherthangetintoaproductspecificdiscussion,Iwantinsteadtotaketheopportunitytodiscussthevarioustypesoffiletransfersoftwarethatcurrentlyexist.AsIdo,Iwillmakeitapointtotalkaboutwhateachtypeisgoodfor,andnotsogoodfor.

Cloud-BasedSharing

OneofthemostcommonmethodsofgettingafilefrompointAtoPointBistousecloudstorageasanintermediary.Therearemanysuchservicesavailable.SomeofthemorepopularonesincludeMicrosoftOneDrive,GoogleDrive,andDropBox.Technically,cloudstorageisn’tthesamethingasfiletransfer,butthetwokindofgohandinhand.

Let’ssupposeforamomentthatsomeoneneedstosendalargefiletoafriend.Ratherthantransferringthefiledirectly,theycouldoptinsteadtouploadthefiletoaclouddrive,andthensharethefilewiththeirfriend.Therecipientofthefilecouldthenusethefile’sURLtodownloadthefile.Soeventhoughcloudstorageisn’treallythesamethingasafiletransfer,cloudstoragedoesenableatwo-step(uploadanddownload)transfer.

Likeanythingelse,usingcloudstoragetotransferfileshasitsgoodpointsanditsbadpoints.Ontheupside,manyofthecloudstorageproviderswillgiveusersfreestoragespace.Forexample,MicrosoftgivesOneDriveusers5GBoffreestoragespace.

AnotherbenefittousingthepubliccloudasamechanismfortransferringfilesisthatcloudstorageproviderssupportlargerfilesthancanbegenerallytransferredthroughE-mail.ManyE-mailaccountshaveanattachmentsizelimitof25MB,althoughsomearefarmorerestrictive.Cloudstoragemakesiteasyto

circumventE-mailattachmentsizelimits.Betterstill,becausecloudstorageisoftenaccessiblethroughaWebinterface,neitherthesendernortherecipientarelikelytoneedanyspecialsoftwarebeyondaWebbrowser.

Ofcoursecloudstoragedoeshaveitslimits.Onedisadvantagetousingcloudstorageisthatfreestorageinthecloudmayprovetobeinadequatefortransferringlargefiles.Letmegiveyouanexample.

AmomentagoImentionedthatMicrosoftwillgiveOneDriveusers5GBoffreestorage.Admittedly,that’splentyofspacefortransferringpictures,documents,andthatsortofthing.Itmighthowever,beinadequateforthosewhoneedtotransfervideo.

Aspreviouslymentioned,IspentsometimeinCanadalastweekdoingzerogravityresearch.Overthecourseofaweek,Ifilled24memorycardswithvideo.Thosecardswere32GBeach.Itherebyaccumulatedover700GBofvideodata.Thesheervolumeofthedatacompletelyruledoutanychanceofusingfreecloudstorageasamechanismforsharingthedatawithotherswhowantedacopy.OneDrive’s5GBlimitwouldnotevenbegintoaccommodatethevideodatafromasinglecamera,muchlessall24.

Ifyouareonlytransferringtext,thenthe5GBlimitmightnotinitiallyseemlikeanissue.Afterall,manydocumentsarelessthan1MBinsize.Eventhisbook,withimagesandall,onlyconsumesabout5MBofspace.Inspiteofthemodestamountofspacerequiredforstoringdocuments,a5GBlimitcouldquicklybecomeproblematicifyouaretransferring1000recordsaday,orifyouaresharingthe5GBofspacewithallofyourcoworkers.

Therearealsoprivacyissuesthatmustbeconsidered.Ifyouuploadasensitivedocumenttoacloudportal,thenanyonewithaccesstotheportalcouldconceivablydownloadthe

document.Abettersolutionisusuallyrequiredformakingsurethatsensitiveorregulateddataisonlyaccessiblebytheintendedrecipient.

FTP

AnotherpopularoptionfortransferringfilesisFTP.FTPstandsforFileTransferProtocol.ItisadatatransferstandardthatisasoldastheInternetitself.Whileitiseasytodismisslegacytechnologiesasirrelevant,FTPisstillverymuchaliveandwell.Infact,whenIwrotemylastbook,thepublisherhadmesubmitthemanuscript,accompanyinggraphics,andsomepromotionalvideosviaFTP.

Personally,ItendtothinkoftheFTPprotocol’sageasoneofitsgreatestassets.BecauseFTPhasbeenaroundforsolong,itisuniversallysupported.Furthermore,theprotocolhasbeenprovenoverthecourseofseveraldecadestobestableandreliable.

Therearehowever,acoupleofdisadvantagestotransferringfilesbywayoftheFTPprotocol.ThebiggestdisadvantageisthatFTPfiletransfersrequireacomputertoactasanFTPserver.Thisisn’taproblemwhendataissharedaspartofanon-goingrepeatablebusinessprocessbecausetheserverprovidesthebenefitofcontrol,security,auditinganddataretention.Allgoodthings.ThesemaybenecessaryforSLA’s,complianceandsoforth.However,thismaybeanissuewhenthetransferismore‘adhoc’orevenfrequentbutnotscheduledandnotsubjecttoSLA’s.Wherethingsbecomeproblematicisiffiletransferneedstooccurbetweenindividuals.Letmeexplain.

WhenIwasakidgrowingupinthe80s,mostpeoplethatIknewhadneverheardoftheInternet.Thoseofuswhospenttimeonlinedidsobyusingmodemstodialintoremotehosts.Thosehostscameintwodifferentflavors–publicandprivate.Thepublichostswere,atthetime,referredtoasBulletin

BoardServices(BBSs).ImaginehavingtodialindirectlytoaWebsiteratherthandialingintotheInternetandthennavigatingtoyourWebsiteofchoice,andyoucanbegintogetafeelforwhatitwasliketouseaBBS.

Theotherconnectivityoptionwaspeertopeer.Withabitofpre-planning,itwaspossibletodialintoafriend’scomputerandestablishaprivatesession.Youcouldusethesesessionstochat,ortotransferfiles.TheclientsoftwarethatmyselfandmyfriendsusedbackthensupportedFTPfiletransfers(amongotherstandards).Assuch,itwasrelativelyeasytosendafiletoafriendviaFTP.

Aspreviouslymentioned,FTPisstillwidelyusedtoday.Inmostcaseshowever,theclientcomponentisjustthat–aclient.TheassumptionisthattheclientwillconnecttoadedicatedFTPserver,liketheonethatmypreviouslymentionedpublisheruses.MostmodernFTPclientsdonotsupportserverless,peertopeerfiletransfers.

TheotherdisadvantagetoFTPisthatbecauseoftheprotocol’sage,FTPissomethingofano-frillsprotocol.FTPdoesagreatjobofcopyingdatafrompointAtopointB,buttheprotocolislackingwhenitcomestosecurity,auditlogging,andthatsortofthing.Thisisn’ttosaythatanFTPsessioncannotbesecuredandaudited,butratherthatthosetypesoffunctionstendnottobenativetotheFTPprotocol.Thatbeingthecase,auditing,security,andotherfunctionsarehandledasfunctionsoftheFTPserversoftware,theclientsoftware,orboth.JustkeepinmindthatalthoughFTPisastandardprotocol,FTPserversandFTPclientscanvarywidelyintermsoffeaturesandcapabilities,soitisimportanttochooseasolutionthatmeetsyourrequirements.

BitTorrents

Anotheroptionfortransferringfilesistouseabittorrent.IhavetobehonestwithyouandtellyouthatIconsiderednot

writingaboutthisparticulartechnologybecausebittorrentshavegottenareallybadreputationinrecentyears.Evenso,thisreputationstemsfromhowthetechnologyisusedratherthanfromproblemswiththetechnologyitself,soIdecidedtogoaheadandincludeasectiononbittorrents.

Abittorrentisapeertopeerfilesharingprotocol.Thethingthatmakesabittorrentdifferentfromotherformsofpeertopeerfilesharingisthatthistechnologyisdesignedtoworkacrosslargenumbersofcomputers.Generallyspeaking,eachofthesecomputersactsasbothaclientandaserver.

Supposeforamomentthatyouwantedtodownloadaparticularfilefromabittorrent.Youwouldfirstneedtoinstallabittorrentclient,andthensearchforthefilethatyouwanttodownload.Unlikea“normal”peertopeerfilesharingsolutionhowever,thefilewilltypicallyexistinmultiplelocations.Somebittorrentparticipantsthatactasseederswillhavecopiesofthefile,aswillanyonewhohaspreviouslydownloadedacopyofthefile.Dependingontheclientthatyouareusing,youmayhavetheabilitytopickthesourcefromwhichyouwanttodownloadthefile,orthesoftwaremaydownloadthefilethroughaseriesofparalleldatastreamsfromthevarioussources.Thisapproachkeepsanyonesinglecomputerfromhavingtobeartheburdenoftransferringtheentirefile.

Sowhyhavebittorrentsgottensuchabadrep?Well,thereareafewdifferentfactorscontributingtothebittorrent’snotoriety.First,filetransferscanbesomewhatunpredictable.Remember,filesarecommonlyhostedonotheruser’spersonalcomputers,notonsomemassivecloudserver.Assuch,youneverknowwhenabittorrentparticipantmightturnofftheircomputer,haveadropinavailablebandwidth,orevendeletethefilefromtheirharddrive.Asageneralrule,popularfilescanbedownloadedmorereliablythanlesspopularfiles,becausebydefinitiontherearemorecopiesof(andthereforemoresourcesfordownloading)popularfiles.

Asecondreasonwhybittorrentshavegottenabadreputationisbecausetheytendtobeverylooselycontrolled,andhaveonoccasionbeenusedintheproliferationofmalware.Therehavealsobeeninstancesinwhichhackersexploitedbittorrentclientstogainentryintobittorrentparticipant’scomputers.

Byfarthebiggestreasonwhybittorrentshavegainedabadreputationisbecausetheyareoftenusedforillegalpurposes.Formanyyears,bittorrentswerethetoolofchoice(andinsomecasesstillare)forthosewhowantedtodownloadbootlegcopiesofmusic,movies,andsoftware.RememberwhathappenedtoNapsterbackin2001?Well,thesoftwarethatNapsterusedbackthenworkedverysimilarlytoabittorrent.

Onemoredisadvantagetobittorrentsisthegenerallackofprivacy.Becausebittorrentsdistributedataacrossnetworkpeers,theyarenotusuallysuitablefortransferringdatathatneedstoremainprivate.

Inaddition,manyBittorrentclientsexposeaparticipant’sIPaddresstothosewhoareseedingordownloadingdatacopies,whichcanposeamajorsecurityrisk.Infact,ithasbecomecommonforBittorrentuserstoleverageVPNsoftwareinanefforttoobscuretheirIPaddress.

E-Mail

Ithinkit’ssafetosaythattheaveragepersoniswellfamiliarwithE-mail,sothereisnoneedformetoexplainwhatE-mailisandwhatitdoes.Evenso,IdowanttotakeamomentandbrieflydiscussE-mailasitrelatedtofiletransfers.

Aspreviouslyexplained,E-mailcanbethoughtofasanalmostuniversalplatformforfiletransfersbecausealmosteveryonehasatleastoneE-mailaccount.However,E-maildoeshavethreemajorlimitations.

First,asImentionedearlier,mostmailboxeshaveanattachmentsizelimit.Thesizelimitisusuallysetbytheadministrator,exceptinthecaseofpublicmessagingplatformssuchasHotmail,Yahoomail,andGmail.Typically,thesizelimitisabout25MB,butthelimitcanbealotlower.IhaveeditorswhoIhavetroublesendingdocumentsto,becausetheirmailboxeshavea5MBlimit.

Evenifyouhaveamailboxwithnoattachmentsizelimit,usingE-mailasafiletransferplatformcanstillbetricky,becauseoddsarethatanyoneyoumightbesendingamessagetowillhaveanattachmentsizelimitontheirownmailbox.

AsecondlimitationthatcangetinthewayofusingE-mailasafiletransferplatformisthemailboxquota.Allofthosemessagesthatgetsentbackandfortheverydayhavetobestoredsomewhere,andifleftunchecked,themailboxdatabasecangrowtobesolargethatitexceedstheunderlyingphysicalstoragecapacity.Assuch,administratorsoftenplacequotasonmailboxestokeepthosemailboxesfrombecomingtoolarge.Evenifstoragespaceisn’tanissue,someorganizationsusemailboxquotastolimitmailboxsizesinanefforttokeepbackupssmallandmanageable.

Thereareanumberofotherreasonswhymailboxquotasaresometimesused.Theimportantthingtounderstandisthatmailboxquotasregulatethemailboxsize,nottheattachmentsize.Therefore,ifamailboxquotaexists,thenitwilllimitthemaximumsizeofanymailboxestowhichitapplies.Thismeansthatifsomeonesendsyouafile,thenthemessagecouldberejectedasaresultofaquotaviolation,eveniftheattachmentitselfisconsiderablysmallerthantheattachmentsizelimit.

OnemorereasonwhyE-mailisimpracticalforuseasafiletransferplatformisbecauseE-mailisinsecure.Really.EventhoughITprosworkreallyhardtosecuremailserversandusermailboxes,messagesareoftensentacrosstheInternetinanunencryptedformat.Nowthereareobviouslyexceptionsto

therule,butmanymailsystemsdonotencryptE-mailmessagessentacrosstheInternet.ThismeansthatE-mailisapoorchoiceforsendingmessagescontainingsensitiveattachments.

E-mailcanbeespeciallyproblematicfororganizationsthataresubjecttoregulatorycompliance.HIPAAforexample,imposesseverepenaltiesfortheunauthorizeddisclosureofelectronicprotectedpatienthealthinformation.SendingpersonallyidentifiablemedicaldatathroughE-mailrisksunwanteddataexposure.Notonlymightthemessagebeinterceptedintransit,buttherecipientcouldconceivablyforwardthemessagetosomeoneelse.Agoodfiletransfersolutionshouldensuredatasecurity,andallowthedata’sownertoretainverifiablecontrol(throughaccesslogs)overaccesstothedata.

ModernFileTransferSolutionRequirements

Movingfromthepasttothepresent(andpossiblefuture)forfilesharing,let’slookatnext-genfiletransfersoftwaretohelpusgobeyondthelimitsofFTP,bittorrent,emailandsoforth.Andlet’salsomapoutwhatkindsofrequirementsyoumighthaveandneedforyourcurrentfiletransfersolutionwithinyourbusiness.

NextGenerationFileTransferSoftwareAspreviouslydiscussed,FTPworksreallywellasafiletransfermechanism,buthasitslimitations.BecauseFTPwascreatedseveraldecadesago,itwasn’treallydesignedtohandletoday’sfiletransferchallenges.SomevendorshavecreatedFTPservers

andFTPclientsthatprovidemodernsecurityandcompliancebeyondwhatisnativelyprovidedbytheFTPprotocol.Othervendorschooseinsteadtobasetheirfiletransfertoolsaroundmodernprotocolsandmodernsecurityandcompliancestandards.

RegardlessofwhetherafiletransferapplicationisbasedonFTPorsomeotherprotocol,therearesomefeaturesthatyoushouldlookforbeyondthebasicabilitytomovefilesfrompointAtopointB.

SecurityandCompliance

Firstandforemost,thesoftwareneedstobeabletotransferfilessecurely.Inmanycaseshowever,thesecuretransferofdataisnotenoughbyitself.Thisisespeciallytrueforthosewhoworkinregulatedindustries,wheretheremaybesevereconsequencesfortheimproperhandlingorunauthorizedexposureofdata.Infact,regulationscommonlyrequireorganizationstobeabletoprovethatfiletransfershappenedsecurely.Itmayalsobenecessaryforanorganizationtoprovethatafilewastransferredbyanauthorizedsendertoanauthorizedrecipient.

Theonlywaytoguaranteethislevelofregulatorycomplianceisthroughanaudittrail.Assuch,thesoftwareneedstosecurelyloginformationaboutthesender,recipient,andcontentofeachtransfer.Theorganizationmustbeabletoproducethisdataintheeventofacomplianceaudit.

Althoughasoftwaregeneratedauditlogshouldbeconsideredtobeanessentialfeature,theauditlogmaynotbeenoughtoensureregulatorycompliancebyitself.Somesetsofregulationshaverequirementsforhowtheauditlogistobehandled.Ataminimum,theorganizationmustusuallyensurethattheauditlogremainssecureandisnottamperedwith.

Dependingontheregulationsthatyourorganizationissubjectto,theremaybearequirementforanauditortobeableto

reviewtheauditlogs.Insuchsituations,itisimportantforthefiletransfersoftwaretoprovidesecure,authenticatedaccesstothelogsthrougheitherasearchengineoraneDiscoveryportal.

ServiceLevelAgreements

AfiletransferrequirementthattendstobeeasytooverlookisadherencetoServiceLevelAgreements(SLAs).It’stemptingtothinkofSLAsintermsofworkloadavailability,buttheremaybeotherSLArequirementsdependingontheorganization’soperationalrequirements.Forexample,theremaybeanSLArequirementtotransferafiletoapartnereverymorningby8:00AM.

AdherencetothistypeofSLArequirestwothingsfromafiletransferapplication.First,thefiletransfersoftwaremustmaintainalogofanyandalltransferoperations.HavingsuchalogistheonlywaytoproveadherencetoanSLA.

TheotherthingthatisusefulformaintainingcompliancewithafiletransferSLAisanautomationengine.Ifthereisastrictrequirementfortheorganizationtotransferafiletosomeoneataspecifictime,thenthebestwayofmeetingthatrequirementistoremovethepotentialforhumanerrorbyschedulingthefiletransfer.Ideally,filetransfersoftwareshouldbeabletosupportscheduled(orevenscripted)uploadsanddownloads.

UniversalCompatibility

Throughoutthisshortbook,Ihavetalkedaboutseveraldifferentoptionsfortransferringfiles.Eachoftheseoptionshaditsprosandcons,buttherewasonethingthatallofthemethodshadincommon.Noneofthemaretrulyuniversal.

Nowadmittedly,Istatedearlierthat“E-mailcanbethoughtofasanalmostuniversalplatformforfiletransfersbecausealmosteveryonehasatleastoneE-mailaccount”.Ifweare

definingauniversalplatformasbeingsomethingthatalmosteveryonehasaccessto,thenyes,E-mailprobablyistheclosestthingthatthereistobeingauniversalfiletransferplatform.

Ifyoulookatthingsanotherwayhowever,thenthereisnothingatalluniversalaboutE-mail.Thinkaboutit…Youcan’tE-mailafiletoanFTPserver.Acloudstorageproviderisn’tgoingtousetheSimpleMessageTransferProtocol(SMTP),theprotocolusedbyE-mailservers,totransferafilethatyouareabouttodownload.

WhileitistruethatE-mailisuniversalinthesensethatmostpeoplehaveanE-mailaddress,E-mailisnotuniversallycompatiblewithotherfiletransfermethods.

Believeitornothowever,therearefiletransfertoolsonthemarketthatcomeclosetobeingtrulyuniversal.IhaveseenconsolidatedfiletransfertoolsthatsupportFTP,E-mail,fileservers,networkshares,andmore.

This“SwissArmyknife”approachtofiletransfersisundeniablyconvenient,butimaginehowpowerfulthistypeofuniversalcompatibilitycouldbeifitweretobecombinedwithaschedulerorascriptingengine.Thesoftwarecouldautomaticallytransferfilesonascheduledbasis,usingthemethodthatispreferredbytherecipient.Thinkofitthisway.Iwritebooksandarticlesforaliving.SomeofmyeditorsprefertoreceivemanuscriptsthroughE-mail.OthersrequiremetosubmitmycontenttoanFTPsite.Atoolthatsupportsscheduledtransfersandmultipletransfermethodscouldhelpmetomakesurethatallofmycontentissubmittedontime,andusingthepublisher’spreferredtransfermethod,allwithaminimalamountofeffortonmypart.Icouldsimplycreatefolderscorrespondingtoeachofmypublishers,andthenscheduleatasktouploadthecontentsofeachpublisher’sfoldertothepublisheronascheduledbasis.Ifforinstance,apublisherrequiredcontenttobesubmittedeveryMondaymorning,Imightsetupatasktotransferthecontentsofthat

publisher’sfolderonSundaynight.AllIwouldhavetodothenistowritethecontent,anddropthefileintothedesignatedfolder.Thesoftwarewoulddotherest.

I’mguessingthatmostofyouprobablyaren’tdealingwithpublishersonaregularbasis,andthat’sOK.Thesamebasicconceptappliestoanyorganizationthattransfersfilestoexternalentities.Considerforexample,anITshopthatistransferringfilestooutsourcedproviderssuchasapaymentclearinghouseorperhapstoabusinesspartner.Havingatoolthataccommodatesallofthesewithasingletransferengine,automationtoolandauditlogcanprovidehugebenefits.

Asyoucansee,therearemanydifferenttypesoftoolsfortransferringfiles.Eachclass

oftoolshasitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.Regardlessofhowyoudecidetogoabouttransferringfiles,thetransfer

shouldbesecure,reliable,anditmustadheretoanyrequirementsthathavebeenestablishedfortheorganization.

Ultimately,tohaveasolidmethodologyforsharingdatayouneedtomapoutafewkeypoints.Thesemaynotallapplyinyourcasebuttheywillformost.Notethefollowing:

EstablishingCriteriaforSuccess

Aspreviouslynoted,therearecountlesstechniquesforsharingdata.Sinceitisimpossibletoexploreeveryconceivablemethod,let’snarrowdownthediscussionandtalkaboutfiletransfers.Let’sassumethatunstructuredfiledataneedstobecopiedfrompointAtopointB,anddefinesomerequirementsfortheprocess.

TheSoftwareMustBeReliable

Itmightsoundabitcliché,butthefirstrequirementisthatthesoftwarejusthastowork.FiletransfersoftwaremustbeabletoreliablycopydatafrompointAtopointB,withoutthesoftwarecrashingmid-stream,andwithoutthedatabecomingcorruptedintransit.Sayingthatthesoftwareneedstobereliableissuchanobviousthing,thatitalmostgoeswithoutsaying.Evenso,reliabilityisofsuchparamountimportancethatitisworthincludingintheestablishedcriteriaforsuccess.Formanyorganizations,filetransfersarekeyoperationalprocessesrelatedtobusinessfunctionssuchasbillingorcustomerservice.Ifthesoftwaredoesnotwork,thenthebusinesssuffers.

SupportabilityisanAbsoluteRequirement

Asecond,almostequallyimportantrequirementisthatthesoftwareneedstobesupported.Thisrequirementneedsabitofexplaining,sostickwithmeforamoment.

Overtheyears,Ihaveusedsomereallygreatopensource,freewarefiletransfertools.Thesetoolstendtobefeaturerich,andyoudefinitelycan’targuewiththeprice.Evenso,Idon’tusethosetoolsbecausetheytendnottobesupported.

Manyyearsago,Iadoptedapolicyofneverrunningunsupportedsoftwareinproduction.Atthetime,Ihadacorporatejobandsothispracticewasamatterofself-preservation.Ineverwantedtofindmyselfinthepositionofhavingtoexplaintothebossthatwecouldn’tgettechsupportonapieceofsoftwarebecauseIhaddecidedtousefreeware.

Althoughtheconceptoffreesoftwareisundeniablyappealing,Ithinkthatitisbettertospendafewbuckstohavetheassurancethathelpwillbeavailableifyoueverneedit.TothisdayIstillmakeitapointtoneverrununsupportedsoftwareinproduction,eventhoughIworkformyself.

TheSoftwareShouldBeFeatureRich,ButAffordableandEasytoUse

OK,thisoneisatoughone.Ideallythefiletransfersoftwarethatyoudecidetouseshouldbefeaturerich,butisshouldalsobeeasytouse.Affordabilitydoesn’thurteither.Theproblemisthatfeaturerichness,affordability,andeaseofuseareoftenatoddswithoneanother.ToshowyouwhatImean,let’sforgetaboutfiletransfersoftwareforasecond,andjusttalkaboutsoftwareingeneral.

AssomeonewhowritesaboutenterpriseITforaliving,Igettotestdrivealotofdifferententerprisegradeapplications.Inalmosteverycase,theseapplicationsarejampackedwithfeatures,butthefeaturescomeatacost.Usuallyaveryhighcost.EnterpriseITsoftwaredoesnotexactlyhaveareputationforbeingcheap.

ManyoftheenterprisegradeapplicationsthatIhaveusedovertheyearshavealsobeenoverlycomplicatedtouse.Ihaveoftenwonderedifvendorspurposelymaketheirapplicationsoverlycomplexeitherasawayofjustifyingtheapplication’scost,orasawayofsellingsupportcontracts.

Ofcoursenoteveryorganizationisthesizeofalargeenterprise,andtherearevendorsthatmakesoftwarethatistargetedtowardsmallerorganizations.Oftentimes,thissoftwareissimplyawatereddown,“light”versionofthevendor’senterprisesolution.

Admittedly,thesetrendscanmakeittoughforSMBsizedorganizationstofindqualitysoftware.Ononehand,spendingtenmilliondollarsforanapplication,takingayeartoimplementthatapplication,andshippingtheITstaffofftospecialtrainingisn’tgoingtobearealisticoptionforsmallershops.Ontheotherhand,the“light”versionofanapplicationmaybelackingtothepointthatitdoesnotreallymeetanorganization’srequirements.

Thepointisthatafiletransfertoolshouldideallybeaffordableandeasytouse,butwithoutcompromisingessentialfeaturesinthenameofprice.Needlesstosay,thisisatallorder,buttherearevendorswhodoadecentjobofmeetingallthreeobjectives.

TheSoftwareMustKeeptheDataSecure

Anotheressentialrequirementforfiletransfersoftwareisthatitmustensureprivacyforthedatathatisbeingshared.NowIwillbethefirsttoadmitthatnoteveryfilecontainssensitivedata.Yesterdayforexample,IsentsomeoneacopyofthePowerPointdeckfromoneofmyrecentspeeches.Thespeechwasopentothepublic,andthecontentwasthereforealsosuitableforpublicdistribution.Evenso,Iamstillabigbelieverinkeepingeveryfiletransferprivate.

Myreasonforwantingtoensureprivacyforeveryfiletransferisreallysimple.Itiseasierandlessriskytomakeafiletransfersecurebydefaultthanitistopickandchoosewhetherornotaparticularfiletransferreallyneedstobekeptprivate.Itiswaytooeasytoforgetthatanotherwisebenigndocumentcontainsthatonepieceofsensitiveinformation.It’sbettertosimplyencrypteverythingthantoriskaccidentallycompromisingsensitiveinformation.Thisisespeciallytruewhenyouconsiderthatalargeportionofthedatatransferredbymanyorganizationsisproprietaryorotherwisesensitiveinnature.

TheSoftwareMustMaintainRegulatoryCompliance

Over135countriesenforcestrictregulationsprotectionpersonalinformationfromtheEU’sGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR),tonumerouscountries’PersonalInformationProtectionActs(PIPAs),totheUS’sHIPAA.Ifyourorganizationissubjecttooneormoreoftheseregulations,thenitisabsolutelyessentialthatyourfiletransfersoftwarebeabletomovedatainawaythatadherestoregulatoryrequirements.

Sowhatdoesthatreallymean?Well,theexactrequirementsvarydependingonthenatureofthedatathatisbeingtransferredandontheregulationsthattheorganizationmustadhereto.Generallyspeakinghowever,regulatoryrequirementsaredesignedtoensurethattherearenodatabreachesandthatsensitivedataisnotimproperlydisclosed.Itisimportanttokeepinmindhowever,thattechnologychangesmorequicklythanregulationsandbecausenewexploitsareregularlydiscovereditistheoreticallypossibleforanorganizationtobecompliantwithoutbeingsecure.

Forthesakeofillustration,considerwhatregulatorycompliancemeansforhealthcareorganizations.IntheUnitedStates,healthcareorganizationsaresubjecttoHIPAA.HIPAAimposesstiffpenaltiesfortheimproperdisclosureofpersonallyidentifiablehealthdata.Inotherwords,ifmedicaldata(suchasadiagnosis,testresults,etc.)containsthepatient’snameoranydatathatcouldbeusedtofigureoutthepatient’sidentity,thenthatdataisconsideredtobepersonallyidentifiableandisthereforeprotectedbylaw.

VendorSponsorChapter:IpswitchMOVEit

Someorganizations,likeyours,requiresensitivedatatomoveoutsidetheperimeterofthecompanynetworksimplyaspartofdoingbusiness.Forexample,bankssendoutcheckstobeimaged,andhospitalstakecareofbillingthroughclearinghousesusingpatientrecordsandchargedata.Nomattertheindustryordataset,theveryideaofinsecurelysendingoutsensitiveinformationovertheInternetisbothdangerousandirresponsible.

Whensharinginformationlikethisaspartofbusinessoperations,itneedstobelockeddownaspartofanestablishedprocess.Organizationslargelyuseoneofthreetypesoftoolstogetthejobdone.FTP,cloudsharing,ormanagedfiletransfer.Eachareviableoptionstogetdata

movedfrompointAtopointB(eachwiththeirownprosandcons),butatthecoreofyourfiletransferneeds,thesolutionusedmustmeetthreerequirements:

1) Thedataneedstoonlybeaccessiblebytheintendedrecipient

2) Youmustbecertainthedatagotthere3) Youmustbecertainthedatahasn’tbeenmodifieden

route

NeitherbasicFTP,norconsumer-basedcloudsharingtrulyensureanyoftheserequirementsaremet.Toachievetruesecurityaroundthetransmission,access,andintegrityofyourdata,ipswitchoffersmanagedfiletransfersolutionstomeeteventhemostdemandingcustomerneeds.

Attheircore,ipswitch’sfiletransfersolutionsaimtosecurethetransferofyourorganization’smostsensitivefilesbyprovidingyouwithvisibilityintodatamovement,whileretainingcompletecontrol.

Ipswitch’sSecureInformationandFileTransfersolutionofferingismadeupof6differentproducts,providingadditionalfunctionalityandcontroloverdatabasedontheiraward-winningMOVEitTransfer.

MOVEitTransfer

OrganizationsreliantonfiletransferactivitiesneedawayforITtomaintaincompletevisibilityandcontroloverfiletransferactivitiesbetweenusers,systems,partners,andcustomers,whileallowingthoseinvolvedtoinitiatetransferswithoutthehelpofIT.MOVEitTransferprovidesorganizationswiththeabilitytodefinewhatfiletransferactivityisallowed,whocanperformthetransfers,when,andhow.Usingacentralized,

multi-tenantarchitecture–designedwithmulti-companydatatransferinmind–MOVEitTransferfacilitatessecuretransfersthatadheretocompanypolicyeverytime.

SupportingawiderangeofclientsgoingwellbeyondjustFTPapplications,MOVEitTransferallowsforuserstocontinuetoutilizetheapplicationstheyalreadyknowandlovewhilecontainingtheactualtransfers.MOVEitTransferperformstheactualtransfer,parsingrequeststhroughitspolicyenginetoensuretransfersareallowed,establishesFIPS140-2validatedAES-256encryptionoverthesecurechannel,andgeneratesanaudittrailforeachandeveryfiletransfer.Logsarestoredinatamper-evidentdatabase,helpingorganizationstobeincompliancewithavarietyofdataprivacyregulationsincludingHIPAA,PCI,GDPR,andmore.

Partofafamilyofproductsthatworktogether,MOVEitTransfer’sbasefunctionalityisaugmentedtoincludeagatewaythatproxiesinboundconnectionstofurtherenhancesecurity,automationandAPIsupporttointegrateMOVEitintoexistingbusinessprocesses,andevenOutlook,web,andmobileclientstoallowuserstosharefilessimilarlytoconsumer-basedsolutions,butwiththesecurityandintegrityofMOVEitTransfer.

MOVEitCloudForthoseorganizationswantingthefunctionalityfoundinMOVEitTransfer,butarecommittedtousingcloud-basedservicesandsolutions,ipswitchoffersMOVEitCloud–aflexibleandscalablecloud-basedmanagedfiletransferservice.SecuredusingthelatestsecurityupdatesandlayersofdefenseincludingFIPS140-2certifiedcryptography,accesscontrol,integritychecking,penetrationtestingandmore,MOVEitCloudprovidesthefullfunctionalityofMOVEitwiththeconvenienceofcloud-baseddeployment.

Despiteitshomeinthecloud,MOVEitCloudmeetsthesamestrictdataprivacycompliancerequirementsasitson-premisescounterpart.

WhichOne’sRightForYou?

Likemostsolutionsthathaveacloud-basedoffering,MOVEitCloudprovidessomeoftheexpectedadvantages,suchasrapiddeployment,predictablecosts,andreliabilitywith99.9%uptime.WherechoosinggetsabitmorechallengingiswhenyoufindoutthatthemajorityofthefunctionalityfoundinMOVEitTransferisalsostandardinMOVEitCloud.So,thismaycomedowntomoreachoiceofcapexvsopex,orcomfortlevelwithhavingpotentiallysensitivedatainthecloud.

SecureFilesinTransitandatRestwithipswitchWhateveryourfiletransferneed–whetherinfrequenttransfersbyonlyafewpeople,ordataconstantlyinmotionbycountlessusers–MOVEitTransferandMOVEitCloudbothprovideorganizationswithcompletevisibilityandabsolutecontroloveryourfiletransfers,ensuringsecureandcompliantdatamovementfororganizationsofanysizeandvertical.

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