Securing Digital Files with an Electronic Document Management System

Securing Digital Files With an Electronic Document Management System

Securing important digital files with an electronic document management system creates an environment in which workers can collaborate across locations while staying organized and maintaining secure control over critical intellectual property assets while accessing their files and documents remotely.

Secure access is paramount when managing confidential files, as proprietary drawings and documents are at risk of theft by nefarious criminals, competing organizations, and other bad actors.  Fortunately, there are several methodologies organizations can use to ensure they are securing important digital files and documents are kept safe within the system and only accessible by permitted users. 

Some of the ways organizations secure their files include:

1. Multifactor authentication
2. Limiting login attempts
3. IP whitelisting
4. System access control

Multifactor authentication

Multifactor authentication (aka,. two-factor authentication) is a security technology that requires users to use multiple methods of authentication from several categories of credentials.  It utilizes a combination of factors, including passwords, biometric verification, or security tokens.

The most common form of multifactor authentication is Google’s 2-Step Verification, which provides users with a unique, time-sensitive password that changes every minute.  This requires users to have a security key, often provided on a user-specific device.

Multifactor authentication provides excellent protection against brute-force attacks, in which attackers try various passwords and usernames to eventually make their way into the system.  These attacks are often automated, allowing attackers to try thousands, if not millions, of password combinations to gain access to the system.

Limiting login attempts

As an additional measure, EDMS admins can limit the number of logins attempts from a single device. This further reduces the risk of a brute-force attack, as the attacker will have a limited number of chances to guess the password.  Combine this with additional two-step verification, and the attacker will have little to no opportunity to gain access to the system.

IP whitelisting

Attackers from all over the world will often try to access the system, so organizations need to limit access to the system based on the geographic location of each user.  IP Whitelisting allows users from administrator-approved locations to gain access to the system while restricting people in unapproved locations from attempting to login to the system.

IP Whitelisting is an aspect of multifactor authentication, perfect for organizations that only want users to access the system from a specific geographic location.  It's great for in-office employees and companies that operate on a regional scale.

System access control

Since not all workers carry the same responsibilities, some workers need to be granted access to certain projects within the document management system, without having access to all the files within the system. Access control enables organizations to access files that are pertinent to their role, without granting them access to the remainder of the files within the system or to functionality related to files, such as downloading and printing.

With ImageSite, system administrators can define users based on their roles and responsibilities, and provide them with access to the specific projects, folders, or files.  Additionally, system admins can control access at the file metadata level, making it easier for them to provide access to files per role.

Additional EDMS Features