The Insecurities of Email

by Eric Pulaski,
Created:

For sensitive documents, it’s important that you do this with a secure portal, which requires your clients have a username and password. While some portals let you share documents using “anonymous” links, whereby users are not required to have a username/password, those links are not secure and are vulnerable to discovery over the Internet. That’s why such products put these documents in a temporary folder that is deleted after a short period of time, usually 30 days or less. You can password protect these documents for safety, but communicating the password over email is not safe, and access to these documents is not auditable.

Keeping Up

Firms have a lot to keep up with these days, and privacy and security of client data should be at the forefront. The good news is that technology can make securing clients’ data easy. Portals provide a secure platform for exchanging sensitive information and files, alleviating firms of having to deal with time-consuming document encryption, password creation and general management of a complex delivery process.

Sending links to documents via email offers clients a familiar communication channel, while leveraging secure portal technology. Portal technology is defined by built-in security and offers one of the safest and most intuitive platforms for exchanging data and documents with clients. Why take the risk of breaching client privacy by sending documents via email when portals offer a solution with all the security and privacy functionality built in? The insecurities of email are complex. However, with advancements in cloud technologies like portals, the answer to this very real and very difficult issue has gotten much simpler.

You might also be interested in "6 Steps to an Effective Client Portal Strategy" at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10248304.

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About the Author – Eric Pulaski, CEO and Founder of SmartVault Corporation

With over 20 years of experience in network security systems and a focus on cloud computing, Eric founded SmartVault Corporation in November of 2007, and currently serves as the company's Chief Executive Officer. Eric has made it his mission to deliver a simple, low-cost document management solution that uses cloud-based technology (low cost) but is centered around integration with applications customers already use, such as QuickBooks® (simple). Eric can be contacted at eric@smartvault.com.

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