Fueled by the hyper acceleration of digital transformation, the exchange of sensitive information has accelerated. This coupled with a shift of working behaviors – the increase of remote working and the expectation to be able to do our jobs and make decisions in the moment, wherever we are – means the challenge of securing outbound information flows is now at the forefront. 

Sending sensitive information that isn’t secure, meaning it could end up in the wrong hands, isn’t just a bit annoying - business reputations, careers and regulatory compliance, and large fines are all at stake. As a result, the issue continues to  hit the headlines.

Such data breaches caused by human error are not a new thing (people make mistakes, it happens) but the trend has been to make the person the problem - and what is the common solution to this problem? To roll out mandatory training courses that include hammering home the importance of pausing and double/triple checking before an email is sent.  The fact is,  training is not enough and why should you have to pause if you have Smart technology that is able to think for you? 

In many other aspects of our lives, Smart technology has come into its own. We have smart home security systems, smart fridges, smart cars, but despite digital communications propelling (the number of emails sent and received globally has increased by nearly 25% since 2017), previous generations of secure communications solutions have fallen short. 

Enter the 3^rd Generation of digital security which empowers staff to operate securely and compliantly; to live within existing email communications and workflows; and uses technology smartly to empower high level of effortless, secure working with maximum effectiveness and minimal disruption. The result? An instinctive security lifestyle that exists organization wide.

Smart in action: how does it work?

At every stage of the journey, 3^rd Generation smart technology secures sensitive emails and attachments:

1. Before sending: Preventing errors before they occur with contextual machine-learning powered business rules, users are empowered to take action in the moment; think incorrect recipients, the presence of sensitive data where it shouldn’t be (i.e. in an attachment), or misuse of Bcc, for example – mistakes which are the leading causes of data incidents today, according to the ICO.
2. During transit: Once out of employee’s hands, unless it is encrypted, it is possible that an email can be intercepted and accessed by an unintended party. Transport Layer Security secures the connection between sender and receiver, and messages can be encrypted with one click (or no clicks at all, depending on your preference); employees are notified to security best practice based on the content of their email, and the recipient’s security levels, effectively spreading awareness on data protection. In addition, once the message has reached the recipient’s inbox, multi-factor authentication verifies recipient identity. And importantly, no encryption keys are held. 
3. After sending: If an error still occurs (we’re only human, after all), users can rely on truly efficient email recall, a feature which has been missing from traditional email clients until now. Plus, for those particularly important and sensitive communications, registered, verified proof of delivery functionality, as well as activity logs on items sent and received, put the control back into employee’s hands, so they can operate with confidence that their message has been received.

With every outbound digital communication, employees can adopt a security lifestyle, without being digital security or compliance experts. It’s up to business leaders to leverage truly smart technologies to enable exactly that. 

By Robert Fleming, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Product Management at Zivver