People are using email as their main source of communication now more than ever. Every business use to require fax machines to send contracts and important confidential information that couldn’t wait for the postal mail.

Today companies are emailing contracts, financial paperwork, insurance information, patient records and more! It is cheaper, quicker, and digital! No more printing paper, storing it in a folder, or trying to hunt it down later.

Many companies request an email instead of a fax. Scan in a signed copy or your completed form and email it to email@company.com. In fact, most businesses have converted their fax to an efax that emails and stores the fax documents electronically.

Technology makes things so great, but sometimes with all this information flying across the Internet, we forget about security, identity theft, and the confidential nature of what we are sending. We must be cautious and protect ourselves and our business.

I just refinanced my house and sent over my W-2’s, signed paperwork, and more through email. It had everything on it, which got me thinking about how we as a business world are sending very confidentially information in the least secure way possible. So for all the individuals and businesses trying to securely transmit data online, here are some things to know.

Data Transfer 101 – When you transmit data online, either through your web browser or a software application like your email program or FTP client, the data is sent over the Internet in open wires unprotected. Think of it as the Matrix. While it appears to be gibberish to most of us, those hackers can read the bits of information as it travels across the Internet and piece an email message together or file upload that contains your confidential information!

Securing Data Transfer – In order to secure data as it is transmitted across the Internet you will need to encrypt the data. Encryption will encrypt the data when it is sent and then it is unencrypted on the other end using a key. This is most commonly done through an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) with a standard 128 bit encryption. There are many ways to encrypt data, but some commonly used security measures include:

Sending Emails Securely – In order to send emails securely you can purchase a private key to be installed on your system. In order to open the email, you must also have the key installed on the receiver’s system. You can also use a public key which uses a key to encrypt and then a different key to decrypt the message. These methods will ensure that the email transmitted over the Internet is encrypted and only the intended receiver can open the message. Putting a password on a file and then sending the password in the email, is not secure! I can easily find the password in the email with the attachment. In fact, you should never send passwords through email.

Transmitting Data Online Securely – When buying something online or giving out personal information, you will notice that a site will use an ; showing a lock and displaying https in the address bar to let you know you are on a secure page. This not only locks in your connection/key for what you are transmitting, but encrypts the data you are sending over the website, so you can be confident that your information is safe. You can click on the lock to find out more about what type of security is being used and who is securing your data.

Secure Uploads and Downloads – You can also use the same SSL technology on an FTP protocol or other protocols online. FTP (file transfer protocol) is often used for transferring large files or a lot of files at once. While there are other methods besides SSL such as secure Shell Access or private network connections, SSL is still the most popular and widely used.

Software – There are some software programs or coding that encrypts data for you. Applications often use this to store confidential information. Back up programs will also use this to store data offsite so the data can only be viewed in the correct environment.

You always have the risk of how the person on the other end is handling your data. However, it is important to be aware of the information you are sending over the Internet and how to know when you are putting yourself at risk. So, be sure to look for https vs. http, when giving confidential information online and don’t send confidential information through email!  And make sure you understand your own company policies and security risks you may be putting your clients' or self at.