Tag Archive for: reduce risk

Risk of using email for the transfer of confidential information

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The risk of using email for the transfer of confidential information has been highlighted yet again. In today’s edition of The Times, the penetration of an email system with criminal intent has led to the loss of confidential information.

The Safe4 system has been designed specifically to avoid the use of email for the transfer of confidential information. The secure vault, which is at the heart of the Safe4 architecture, can be used for a wide range of different applications. In order to access the contents of a vault, users have to have been specifically invited to do so, and must authenticate themselves with username, password and 2-factor authentication. Confidential information is never transferred by email.

Safe4 follows guidance from the UK National Cyber Security Centre for matters relating to password length and strength, and is regularly penetration-tested by UK Government accredited services. Combined with comprehensive reporting and audit trails, and UK-based hosting in data centres accredited to ISO 27001, Safe4 offers a secure alternative to the use of email to transfer confidential information.

For more information on how Safe4 can assist your organisation to reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your information, please contact us.

Enhancements for Safe4

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Version 6.04 of the highly secure Safe4 information delivery and storage service has been released. These enhancements for Safe4 reflect response to customer requirements, especially those who operate internationally, and those who are particularly active in uploading and sharing documents.

Enhancements for Safe4

As well as general security and performance improvements, version 6.04 of Safe4 delivers a number of specific changes:

  • Individual users are now able to choose the time and frequency of receiving upload notifications of file uploads or changes in structured data. Busy accounts can generate significant volumes of email traffic, resulting in very full inboxes. Selecting a specific time of day when these are received, as well as deciding the number of days’ interval between emails arriving, offers more flexibility and control for users. The selections can be made easily from each user’s My Account settings:

  • Safe4 has become Accessible. Users who are impaired in some way, particularly those who suffer from vision difficulties, can navigate around Safe4 screens by using the tab key. When used in conjunction with screen readers, users will receive an audio description of where they are on the page and can activate Safe4 functions without needing to use a mouse or tap the screen.
  • Signing documents in Safe4 has become easier, and users who have issued documents for signature can follow their progress more easily. If several documents are issued for signature as a pack by a number of different users, for instance, the initiating user can establish how the request has progressed, and which individual signatures are yet to be added. Documents signed in Safe4 are accepted by Companies House and HMRC in the UK.
  • For customers who have users or clients in other countries, using the 2-Factor Authentication security function has potentially been a problem. Several countries in Africa cannot receive text messages from the United Kingdom, and other nations such as Canada have barred the receipt of text messages generated automatically by IT systems. 2FA codes are now sent by text and email, so that users will definitely be able to receive the codes even if text messages cannot be delivered. This will also be helpful in situations when a user’s phone may be lost, damaged, or out of signal, and unable to receive text messages.

Contact Us

Safe4 is being improved constantly, with the addition of more functional enhancements as well as security updates. Please contact us if you would like more information on forthcoming changes, and in particular how these changes might be of value for your business.

 

More news about leaks of highly sensitive information

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There are now virtually daily examples in the media of how leaks of highly sensitive information are occurring, often due to human error or misbehaviour, but also due to lack of security in poorly designed or managed systems. A current article in the media today highlights a glaring example of this – click here for more information.

Safe4 was designed with security at the core

The fundamental design of Safe4 is based around the use of secure vaults, into which information can be placed by the provider of the service, such as a professional practitioner or an employer, and the individual users who have been given access to that specific vault. Information cannot “leak” in the way that seems to be occurring regularly in other systems.

Even if a hacker were to break in to the “back door” of Safe4, without using one of the normal user interfaces, nothing can be inferred due to the way that the data is obfuscated and encrypted. The secure vault design underpins this, so that each vault becomes a completely discrete storage space for information in structured form (in columns and rows, similar to spreadsheets and simple databases) or unstructured form (document files).

Regulatory compliance

Safe4 complies with a number of regulatory frameworks by virtue of the fact that all stored information is encrypted, everything is held in UK-based data centres that comply with ISO 27001, 2-factor authentication, and a full audit trail of all user actions is maintained. The ideal solution for the storage and management of highly sensitive information, in effect.

Please contact us if you would like more information on how Safe4 can help your organisation to enhance compliance, reduce costs, and improve client service.

Invoice fraud still a major threat

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In December 2018 Safe4 published an article highlighting the increasing instance of invoice fraud in the UK. This is not just a UK issue – criminals across Europe are defrauding businesses of huge sums by intercepting emails and changing the bank details on invoices.

Invoice fraud remains a major problem

Further evidence of invoice fraud was published yesterday on the BBC website. Again, the use of email was highlighted as one of the most prevalent means of getting a customer to pay the funds rightfully due to their supplier into a fraudulent bank account. in 2018 3,280 cases were reported, although it is likely that the actual number was higher. In total at least £93 million was stolen through invoice fraud.

There is a solution …

Safe4 provides a secure means of transferring information of any kind between businesses of any size and type. Use of UK-only data centres accredited to ISO 27001, comprehensive audit trails, and industry-leading encryption techniques radically reduce the risk of fraud, and thus the potential for incurring significant financial losses.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to ensure that your business does not suffer from invoice fraud – we will be delighted to assist you.

Evidence of increased threat of email intrusion

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Online fraud and theft have become widespread in recent years. Email in particular presents a growing risk as criminals identify ever more devious methods of persuading individuals and businesses to expose their confidential information.

The risk is highlighted in an article on the VaultConnect website, please click here for details. VaultConnect are partners of Safe4, and are working to reduce the risk of email intrusion for professional practitioners and other businesses across the United Kingdom. This article refers to 5 scams, of which number 3 is the particular case in point. Safe4 have stressed the importance of avoiding the use of email for some years, although in many sectors it is still used routinely to transfer confidential information in spite of the potential consequences of a breach under the terms of the Data Protection Act.

For more information on how the use of Safe4 can help your organisation to reduce cost and improve regulatory compliance and governance whilst enhancing customer service, please contact us.

Password strength checker improvements for Safe4

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One of the challenges of enforcing strict rules about the strength of passwords is how to make them secure and still easily usable by people who perhaps utilise a system occasionally and often need rapid access to share or obtain important information.

Safe4 has now been updated to make it easier for users to select passwords in the first place, by listing each of the strength requirements and showing visually when these have been satisfied. Because Safe4 is used in many countries around the world and by speakers of many languages, it can be difficult to prevent users from choosing a password that is a common word in one language but not in another. Using sequential characters on a keyboard is also potentially an issue, as in several European countries different keyboard layouts are utilised. Beyond Europe, in countries where alphabets may also differ, keyboard layouts are often radically different from those familiar in Anglophone regions.

Keeping it simple without sacrificing security

Safe4 has become established as one of the most secure sites on the Internet, and consequently enforcing strict password requirements is essential given the presence of brute-force attack systems that can crack simple passwords very quickly. Whilst setting a strong password is the responsibility of each individual user, applying specific rules governing this, as well as limiting the number of unsuccessful login attempts within a single browser session, makes it easier to prevent unauthorised access to the system. The changes made by Safe4 will inform new users of the strength of their password as each character is chosen, and show any discrepancies visually.

Please contact us if you would like any further information on the security measures that are taken by Safe4 to protect the integrity of information that we hold, and the protection that this offers for our customers.

Cyber crime is still soaring – and insecure email remains the weakest link

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The scourge of email scams and phishing continues to rise relentlessly. Whilst some organisations have taken steps to protect themselves, many still use email to transfer confidential information to recipients both within and beyond their own domain. A recently-published article highlights this, and the risks to corporate governance that are involved.

Professional practitioners are among the worst offenders. Much of the information that they generate on behalf of their clients is highly confidential and is sent by email as an attachment. Not only does this expose their clients to the loss or theft of the data, it is inefficient and can ultimately lead to serious difficulties for the practitioners themselves. In the UK it is estimated that more than 70% of law firms, for example, still use open email to carry confidential client information.

Sometimes the clients themselves are a problem …

Accounting firms, for example, provide services for a wide range of different clients, everything from global corporates to the local butcher, baker and candlestick-maker. At the smaller end of this scale many clients are resistant to using secure information sharing services as they find it easier to simply receive financial information as an attachment to an email. Sometimes it is securely stored away, but often it is not, leading to repeated requests for the information to be re-sent by the accountant, multiplying the scale of the risk.

VaultConnect, partners of Safe4 Information Management, have expressed the consequences of these “can you just …” requests for information. Typically they result in an interruption of approximately 23 minutes to stop a current task, go and find the requested information, respond to the client, and then try to resume the task that has been interrupted. And the result of this is to expose both the client and the accountant to increased risk.

There are better and safer options

The Safe4 service has been designed explicitly to protect any organisation that needs to share confidential information with external or internal parties, whether it be in unstructured form (such as documents), or structured (data held in columnar format, similar to spreadsheets and simple databases). Manningtons, an accounting firm in Sussex, have recently chosen to significantly expand their use of Safe4 in order to protect themselves and their clients from loss or theft of sensitive information. Read about their experiences here. The result of this approach has enabled Manningtons to enhance their compliance with both the Data Protection Act (which now embodies the recently-enacted European General Data Protection Regulation), and with the guidance issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. This strongly advises accounting firms not to send confidential information to clients by email, even if the client has actually requested that they do so.

Safe4 utilises a highly secure vault to hold information relating to each client. This can be shared with the clients themselves, allowing two-way transfer of confidential documents and data. The very granular permissions provided by Safe4, as well as comprehensive audit trails and reporting functions, add further levels of protection to the professional practitioners as well as their clients.

Contact Safe4

For more information on how Safe4 can help your organisation to achieve enhanced levels of security and compliance with regulatory frameworks, please get in touch. We will be delighted to assist you.

Manningtons responds strongly to the challenge of GDPR by expanding the use of Safe4

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With a client base numbering close to 3,000 and offices across Sussex and Kent, Manningtons have become one of south-east England’s best-established accounting practices.  From their head office in Heathfield, East Sussex, they offer a wide range of accounting, taxation, and financial management services.  Like all professional practitioners, they have had to respond to the challenge of GDPR.

Manningtons relationship with Safe4 began in 2010, shortly after the secure document delivery and storage service was launched.  Alan Staples, Managing Partner at Manningtons, recognised that the application of technology to the running of an accountancy practice was gathering pace, and was determined to explore better and more secure ways to communicate with the firm’s clients.  Traditional methods of communication such as hard copy post and email were still in everyday use, as indeed they were in much of the UK business community.  However, these methods were often costly and inefficient, and in recent years have become increasingly unsafe as online fraud and theft have emerged as significant threats.

GDPR is driving change

The adoption of the Safe4 service by Manningtons has gathered momentum with the arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation across Europe.  Alan Staples is extremely conscious that protecting Manningtons clients from misuse or loss of personal information is not only best practice, but is also demanded by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.  Thus combining a high standard of service to clients with a high level of compliance has triggered a significant increase in the use of Safe4 as a means of getting confidential information to and from clients.

Alan’s view on this matter is very clear: “We can no longer send confidential information to clients by email.  That is the clear directive to our staff, and we are now putting Safe4 to greater use in order to ensure that we are taking the best possible care of our clients’ interests.  Manningtons serves a very varied client base across a range of different sectors.  Not all of our clients have been quick to adopt the use of modern technology, but they are now increasingly aware of the risks that they run by sticking with email as a way of transferring their confidential information.  We cannot run the risk of email intrusion, and must ensure that client information is kept confidential at all times.  The Technical Helpsheet from the ICAEW makes it clear that even if clients ask us to use email, this should not be an option that we choose.”

In areas such as payroll management, for example, the need for security is paramount.  The application of Safe4 to the transfer of key personal and financial information has increased significantly, and is not only providing heightened security but is also aiding efficiency.  Above all, Manningtons is able to offer GDPR-compliant services to its clients, thereby ensuring that their clients’ businesses and reputations are not damaged by costly and avoidable breaches or leaks of information.

Ben Martin, director of Safe4, is delighted with the progress that Manningtons have made in their adoption of Safe4.  “We have enjoyed a close relationship with Manningtons since 2010, and they were one of the first professional practitioners to adopt Safe4 in their business.  The advent of GDPR has led to important changes in the way that the Safe4 system works, giving greater control to our customers and increased security to their clients” claims Martin.  “We are in the process of making some significant enhancements to Safe4, including several that will be of value to Manningtons – such as the ability to sign documents within Safe4 – and it is of great value to have their feedback and input as we go forward.”

Safe4 has adapted to address the requirements of GDPR

GDPR has provided a catalyst for many businesses to overhaul the way that they manage their communication with their clients, and the recent changes in the Safe4 system have supported this.  The ability for a complete client vault to be deleted permanently is clearly an essential requirement, and this has been handled within the Safe4 system not just by the irrevocable deletion of data, but the maintenance of an audit trail record of the deletion and the “stub” of data that recorded the activity within the vault while it was live.  This audit trail will protect Safe4 customers by providing an evidential record should a former client have been engaged in illegal or improper activity, and is fully compliant with the GDPR requirement for data retention by contract.

Safe4 also allows a Subject Access Request report to be generated at the touch of a button, should a client ask for all of the personal information to which they have had access.

By increasing the adoption of the Safe4 system across its business, Manningtons is building a strongly compliant platform for further growth in the south east of England.  Safe4 is also enjoying the benefit of a close relationship with a professional customer whose real-world experience is proving to be a valuable reference point for the functional development of the system.

If you would like more information on how the use of Safe4 can support your GDPR compliance programme, please contact us.

Insecure email communication still causing huge losses through fraud

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Recent news has highlighted once again the risks caused by using insecure email communication to transfer confidential information, as this article shows.

The effect of online theft is clearly devastating for those that have had their money stolen – in many cases these losses represent life savings and cannot be recovered. Criminals posing as conveyancing solicitors, or alternatively hacking into private email accounts and falsifying bank account details so that the conveyancer transfers the proceeds from the sale of a property into a criminal’s account have become much more frequent in recent years.

To allow conveyancers to be confident that they are transferring funds into the correct account, Safe4 are offering the use of their highly secure information transfer service, into which clients or indeed any other party can enter bank details directly into designated fields. This completely eliminates the risks posed by using insecure email communication to transfer this information. It is not only email that is insecure – hard copy post and voice communication also carry risks of their own.

Safe4 are also working with other organisations that have to transfer funds into a client account at the completion of a transaction. These include art galleries, auction houses, and others who may be selling assets on a client’s behalf.

In addition to the storage of all data in UK-only data centres accredited to ISO 27001, Safe4 have just completed another penetration test carried by an independent UK Government accredited agency. Again this has confirmed the high levels of security offered by using Safe4 as the means of transferring confidential information between parties that are involved in high-value transactions. Compliance with the SRA guidelines for cloud computing gives conveyancers additional confidence that information is being transferred between parties with minimum risk.

For more information on how Safe4 can help your organisation to improve the protection of clients’ money, please contact us.

Charities are exposed to serious risk when documents are lost

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Proper management of sensitive records can be challenging, but when the documents in question relate to vulnerable individuals who are receiving care from charities or local authorities, the consequences of information falling into the wrong hands can be very damaging.  Recent cases of paper documents being lost highlight this risk.

The impending arrival of GDPR will of course impose far more severe penalties than have hitherto been possible under current data protection legislation. Among the organisations most exposed to such potential penalties are small-to-medium charities, who in many cases handle highly sensitive information about individuals. Such charities are generally staffed by dedicated and highly competent volunteers, but often they lack the experience or resources to implement processes or systems that give proper protection to the information they handle.

Converting paper documents into electronic records can be difficult, particularly if volumes are large and the documents them selves are not in good condition. However, electronic systems do provider much tighter control of information, and also provide a host of other benefits including speed of retrieval and access while away from the office or filing cabinet.

Among the key benefits of applying a highly secure electronic system such as Safe4 to the management of confidential information is that it will not only eliminate or reduce the risk of document loss, but will permit the organisation in question to achieve and maintain compliance with GDPR. This could prove to be a key safeguard in the coming years when some of the UK’s most high-profile charities have suffered enormous reputational damage and are now seeing the cancellation of direct debit donations doubling in recent weeks. Maintaining the highest possible standards in record-keeping and information management will be a valuable means for the charity to protect their most valuable asset – their donor subscribers, who provide the majority of funds to support the important work that charities carry out to assist the members of our society who are most in need of help.

In conjunction with a number of partners, Safe4 Information Management is launching an initiative to offer the charitable sector solutions that will help them not only protect their information to the highest possible standard, but also to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their operations. Further details of this initiative will be published in the coming months, as GDPR approaches.

If you like to know more about how Safe4 can help your organisation to enhance the secure management of confidential records, please get in touch with us.