For those that ask "What is AS2?," AS2 is an abbreviation for Applicability Statement 2, which is a popular file transfer protocol that allows businesses to exchange data with their trading partners.AS2 protocol combines the use of several secure and widely used technologies including HTTPS, SSL Certificates, S/MIME, and file hashing. By utilizing...

Note from the Editor: This article shares highlights from Info-Tech Research Group's Managed File Transfer Vendor Landscape. Read our article about the 2021 Info-Tech MFT Data Quadrant Report for an updated landscape, or download the latest copy. The Managed File Transfer Landscape Info-Tech Research Group, an IT research and...

Note from the Editor: This blog is a recap of an older webinar. To view the most recent webinars, you can do so here.Meet MFTThe term MFT (Managed File Transfer) is not new, but you may have begun to hear it more frequently. Changes in data security and transmission regulations have brought this established technology to the forefront, but what...

Many organizations have an SFTP server installed where their trading partners can connect to securely upload and download sensitive files. SFTP Server in the DMZ Traditionally SFTP Servers have been installed in the DMZ (or public facing) segment of the network since organizations were fearful of opening inbound ports into the Private (internal) network. ...

The privacy capabilities of encryption methods such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) allow organizations to achieve a hightened amount of data security and protection. There are various approaches and elements of comparison for these encryption methods, however, and each one comes with their own histories, features, and capabilities. These are: PGP,...

If an auditor showed up to your office tomorrow and wanted to examine your file transfer security policies and procedures for compliance, how confident are you that your organization would pass with flying colors?If there’s any doubt that your file exchange process can meet stringent compliance requirements, a secure managed file transfer solution...

As organizations and their trading partners become more and more integrated, it's critical that file transfers perform without delays or disruptions. For instance, a document containing a batch of transactions could traditionally be delivered within a window of several hours without causing any issues. But today, in the effort to make business...

Keep Your Files Secure In the battle to secure information, it helps to know a little bit about how it can be compromised. Using FTP is one way to expose critical vulnerabilities and can allow credentials to be hacked. However, these holes in security can also be easily closed if you know how. How Hackers Discover Vulnerabilities Here's how...

What is FIPS 140-2?FIPS 140-2 is a standard with which cryptographic-based (encryption) security systems must comply when protecting sensitive data in U.S. government agencies and departments. This FIPS 140-2 standard also extends to other entities that may exchange sensitive data with the federal government, including defense contractors, state...

HIPAA, established in 1996, was signed into law to outline the appropriate ways to use and disclose patient health information. Read on to learn how to develop a HIPAA- and HITECH-compliant IT framework for your organization.Why Does HITECH Exist?HITECH laws were enacted to up the ante on healthcare organizations to meet HIPAA legal compliance for...

HIPAA and HITECH regulations were designed and enacted to increase the security surrounding personal health information from those who should not have access to it. Next to finance, the healthcare industry is one of the most regulated industries around. While debates on the cost, structure, and delivery of healthcare continues, most people agree that...

Insurance companies are the experts at analyzing and managing risk. They identify, quantify, and set pricing based on the calculated costs of risk. Naturally, the higher the perceived risk, the higher the cost to mitigate the potential losses.Yet, here is the irony. While those in the insurance industry excel at evaluating risk management for their...

Many Americans have spent the last few days frantically searching for receipts and other documentation to finish their taxes before April 15th — only to realize they get a one-month reprieve this year.Despite that sigh of relief, there's no doubt that some of those people thought they knew exactly where to find what they needed, and were dismayed to...

When you send someone a file using FTP, how do you know (and later prove) that it was successfully sent? Consider the Complexities It might be possible to save a screenshot as long as the process was simple and you can see all the commands on a single screen. But what if your commands start getting complex? And if you start sending quite a few...

What is Secure FTP? SFTP vs. FTPS: Secure FTP Authentication SFTP vs. FTPS: Secure FTP Implementation SFTP vs. FTPS: Speed SFTP vs. FTPS: Security Watch a Demo An increasing number of organizations are looking to move away from transferring data with FTP (a standard file transfer protocol). In the beginning stages of research, questions...

Cloud computing is not for everything and not for everyone, but it has made a permanent mark in the lexicon of technology services. And there is a lot of hype around cloud computing and what it can do for organizations. To be fair, it is a very powerful tool. But it’s important to work out how you can use it most effectively and securely. The best way...

A Data Breach is Closer Than You ThinkAs the percentage of data breaches increase, the risk of organizations losing your sensitive data also increases. No one wants to receive the news that some or all of their personally identifiable information (PII) was stolen.Sure, there are people who are victims of various phishing scams, but it's more likely...

Here at Fortra, we hear a lot of buzz about protecting both customer and company data, but it's alarming how many IT departments and enterprise users are still not protecting their data correctly. According to the Ponemon Institute, fewer than 50 percent of organizations have comprehensive encryption protection in place.Prevention vs. RemediationData...

Why is FTP an Outdated Protocol?FTP was designed as an easy mechanism for exchanging files between computers at a time when networks were new and information security was an immature science. In the 1970s, if you wanted to secure a server from unwanted access, you simply locked the computer room door. User access to data was controlled by the basic...