The digitization of documentation, records, payment data and a variety of other important information that was formerly printed on paper and stored in file cabinets is a boon to most businesses. As data, these documents are significantly smaller than their paper predecessors. The result is significantly fewer file cabinets, greater potential for organization and more green working environments. But this boon is not without its bane: Hackers are more conniving than ever. Whereas stealing sensitive data in the old days entailed sneaking past office security systems, and manually sifting through mountains of paperwork, cyberattackers can orchestrate corporate theft methodically, anonymously and from the security of their homes. No getaway car necessary.
Financial firms are feeling the burn
Despite the dangers of digitally storing sensitive documentation, every industry has made the shift to cyberspace in an attempt to maximize efficiency and enhance productivity. This includes companies in the financial sector, which regularly handle sensitive information that, in the wrong hands, could influence stock prices. More than one recent data breach in this sector has highlighted the fallout of this practice.
In October, multiple high-profile cyberattacks were successfully executed against financial firms. Scottrade – a discount brokerage firm – announced that its customer database was infiltrated by unknown hackers who appeared to be after personal contact information, according to CNN. An estimated 4.6 million people may have been affected by the breach. The fallout for Scottrade involved having to supply all those affected with free identity protection for one year, and a lawsuit filed by one of the company's customers.
About a week after Scottrade's announcement. financial information firm Dow Jones wrote a letter to its customers informing them that the contact information of approximately 3,500 individuals may have been compromised as a result of a data breach. There was some speculation as to whether or not the two events were connected, but reports never provided concrete evidence in support of this notion. It was later reported that Russian hackers who wanted trading tips were responsible for the Dow Jones breach, according to Fortune.
Minimizing cyberthreats with Fax over IP
Hackers may have malicious intentions, but their dedication to penetrating even the most well-fortified organizations is uncanny. Worse yet, employees of these organizations often make hackers' jobs easier through improper handling of sensitive information. For financial firms and banking institutions, one slip-up can result in catastrophe. It is precisely for this reason that faxing services will never become obsolete.
"FoIP provides a secure and direct end-to-end portal."
Fax over IP specifically can be an extremely valuable solution for financial firms of all sizes that regularly have to transfer sensitive information across various locations. For many companies, email has provided an extraordinarily light-weight, affordable alternative to fax machines. But email hardly meets the security standards that financial institutions must abide by. In fact, a teenager recently broke into CIA Director John Brennan's personal email account.
FoIP is a fast and secure fax server alternative. Like voice over Internet protocol, FoIP provides a secure and direct end-to-end portal with no chance of interception. Email to fax features can also be employed, which is extremely useful for lengthy documentation that might present less of a security threat. Alternatively, highly sensitive materials can be sent from fax machine directly to fax machine, and can even be encrypted.
FoIP will be around for years to come
Contrary to the notions that fax services have one foot in the grave, FoIP will continue to have an important role to play in the financial sector for many years to come. Research suggests that the financial industry has been especially targeted by cybersecurity threats. The industry faces 300 percent more security-related events than any other, according to a study released this summer by Websense Security Labs. Closing up as many loose ends as possible is, therefore, a priority in this industry, and secure fax servers do just that.
Simply put, finance and FoIP go hand in hand.
Enhance enterprise communication, collaboration and compliance efforts with a proven FoIP solution from FaxCore. Contact FaxCore today to learn more about their 'Partly-Cloudy' fax solutions.
