data room real estate for new ways of running business
Contrary to file sharing and storage solutions such as Dropbox, which only encrypt your files during the uploading process, secure data rooms encrypt every document as it moves between servers and whilst in storage. This is crucial to prevent hackers from having access to information in the event that it gets lost.
It is important to keep in mind that the security of data rooms is only as secure as the server that hosts them. Secured at rest encryption is crucial, but it does not guarantee total security. Additionally, it’s important to check if the virtual data room’s system encrypts the temporary files created by downloading documents to the browser – if not, it could result in thousands of unprotected documents sitting unprotected on a server that can easily be compromised.
Another feature that is important is the ability to add personal notes to documents that are only viewable by the person who wrote them – it reduces the possibility of third parties being able to view confidential information and enhances collaboration during due diligence. Also, the most secure data rooms have dynamic watermarks which update in real-time to deter unwelcome file sharing and help to track file sources if a leak does occur.
Verify that the data room you’re considering is in compliance with the industry standards for security by confirming if it is ISO 27001 or similar certification. Also search for an encryption-secure data room that is able to provide strong encryption methods and also provides detailed information on user access and activity.