File transfer environments handle many of the most sensitive data exchanges in your organization, and require multiple layers of security to protect against data breaches. To help you strengthen your defenses, we’ve listed five proven file transfer security tactics below.
1. Encrypt data at every stage of the transfer process
Why it matters: Once your data leaves your organization, it will cross any number of networks before reaching its client endpoint. Encryption ensures your data’s confidentiality during this journey — even if it falls into the wrong hands, a bad actor will not be able to access the actual data. You can also secure files at rest to further reduce the risk of a data breach.
Tactics to implement:
- Avoid unencrypted file transfer protocols: Use SFTP, FTPS and HTTPS instead of FTP or HTTP to protect data from eavesdropping.
- Encrypt files while stored: Use data-at-rest encryption tools, like OpenPGP, to secure stored files.
- Choose strong encryption: Use the strongest cryptographic algorithms your environment allows, such as AES-256, and adhere to security standards like FIPS 140-2.
2. Strengthen access controls and authentication
Why it matters: Limiting who can access your file transfer system — and how they access it — reduces the risk of unauthorized access, data leaks and privilege escalation.
Tactics to implement:
- Provide minimum access by default: Grant users the minimum access needed for their roles. Use mechanisms like IP-based access and time-based restrictions to flag suspicious account actions.
- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA): Adding an extra authentication layer will protect you from unauthorized access in the event a single factor, such as a password, has been compromised.
- Set access limits for shared files: Protect download links with passwords and set expiration dates to prevent accidental exposure.
3. Protect against malware and data leaks
Why it matters: Preventing malware infections and accidental data exposure is essential to maintaining a secure file transfer environment. Most malware attacks occur from human error, which means you’ll need to ensure you protect your users as much as possible.
Tactics to implement:
- Enable malware scanning for inbound file transfers: Add antivirus utilities to your DMZ in order to detect ransomware, viruses and other threats in uploaded files.
- Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for outbound file transfers: DLP tools delivered over ICAP can automatically scan files for sensitive data and block exposure of confidential information based on your configuration settings.
4. Educate and empower employees
Why it matters: Your users are often the weakest link in your security chain. Human error, phishing attacks and other factors combine to create issues that no system can fully prevent. Which is why educating your users on secure file transfer practices is the best way to reduce the risk of human error leading to security incidents.
Tactics to implement:
- Train employees on secure file transfer practices: Conduct regular training sessions to keep employees informed of the latest threats and best practices.
- Enforce password policies: Automate the enforcement of strong password policies to ensure compliance and combine passwords with other authentication factors.
- Conduct regular anti-phishing checks: Phishing is a significant threat to businesses due to how it preys on an employee’s susceptibility. To raise your team’s guard, conduct spot-checks via simulated phishing attacks that can help your team understand how to recognize attacks and what to do about them.
5. Maintain visibility and control through monitoring
Why it matters: Cyber attacks are sadly inevitable, but can be mitigated if caught quickly. Logging and monitoring file transfer activities can provide critical insights to help identify incidents, prevent data loss and improve your future security strategies.
Tactics to implement:
- Log and monitor file transfer activities: Maintain detailed logs of user and admin actions to detect suspicious events and conduct digital forensic investigations.
- Ensure automatic scanning is enabled: Your file transfer server’s policies should include automatic scanning for any unusual activity and the ability to shut down flagged transfers for verification.
Next steps: Build a multi-layered defense
File transfer cyber threats take many different forms. By implementing the five security improvements outlined above, you’ll establish a robust, multi-layered defense that will significantly reduce the risk of data breaches, operational disruptions and other incidents.
Important note: While these measures strengthen your security, some threats, like zero-day exploits, may still bypass them. To learn more about zero-day threats and how to address them, check out JSCAPE by Redwood’s comprehensive secure file transfer guide.