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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.Extract from article by Richard Lutkus and Corey Bieber
The use of open file sharing platforms in business continues to increase in 2017; Dropbox alone has over 200,000 active business accounts. Unfortunately, the convenience of these platforms and the increase in use by businesses attracts the attention of hackers a well. File sharing platforms and accounts have a high “hack value” — the overall value of the accounts on the dark web — due to the relative ease with which account can be obtained and the sensitivity of the information stored on these platforms. The risk associated with the use of file share platforms is twofold. First, company supported file share is attractive to attackers because it is guaranteed to contain sensitive information. Second, file share platforms available to employees outside of the company — e.g. the employee Google Drive account — may be used to store company information, but likely do not use the same security standards as those enforced by the company. Attacks on file share platforms are also very real. In August of 2016 Dropbox forced users to reset their passwords based on a breach — 60 million account credentials compromised — that had been discovered but was executed four years earlier in 2012.
Thus, it is important that businesses educate their employees on the risks of sharing information on these platforms and apply strict administrative and technical safeguards mitigate the risk of attack.
Read the complete article at File Share Platforms and Business Risk | Carpe Datum Law
Additional Reading:
- The State of File Sync and Share
- Use of File-Sharing Service Leads to $218,400 Fine For HIPPA Violations