Secure Documents using a Document Management Tool

Share documents with only those you need to,so others can’t view them
Restrict specific actions to secure documents

Why use a Document Management Tool as a document security system?

Before you learn how you can secure documents, here is a brief note on why you should use a document management tool to do so:
At its most basic level, information is secure when it resides in the authorized person’s mind. The moment it is transferred onto another medium like paper or an electronic file, it becomes vulnerable. This I more so when it is validated by a signature – be it manual or digital. Remember…you cannot un-send data! So once the document is out, it can potentially be misused. Information is only as secure as the medium carrying it – in this case, the document. So you need to secure documents whether they are paper-based or digital. Now let us see how to secure paper-based documents and their electronic counterparts:

• • Secure documents that are paper-based
    

Paper-based documents have to be handled physically. So not only are they subject to wear and tear, but when you mail them or pass them around to others, you no longer have complete control over their security. Even if your paper archive room is manned by a guard, it is vulnerable to attacks. And if you don’t have digital backups, your documents would be highly unsecured. So you must digitize them to secure them.

• • Secure documents that are digital
    

Even when documents have been scanned and stored as digital images (or created in electronic formats), they can be accessed by unauthorized users. But if you have a system in place that allows you to assign various levels of access, your documents will be safe. A document management tool like GLOBODOX enterprise software does just that – it offers multiple ways to secure documents from unauthorized access and use. An enterprise document management tool can not only make scanned images of your paper-based documents secure but can also enhance the security of files that were originally created in digital formats.

Why use GLOBODOX as a document security system?

• • Helps digitize paper-based documents
    

As we saw above, storing documents in digital format is far more secure than storing them in paper form. GLOBODOX lets you scan documents individually as well in batches, using a range of scanning features. Digitizing documents makes them permanent. This means even if your paper-based documents are destroyed, stolen, lost or misfiled, you still have an electronic copy which you can always print out – if at all you need a hard copy.

• • Helps eliminate misfiling through better organization
    

GLOBODOX lets you organize documents by folders, tags (i.e. keywords), document types (e.g. Invoices, Agreements, etc.) and Stack Types (e.g. Customer ID, Client Name, Project Name, etc.). You can even link them to each other for instant access. Quick Search, Advanced Search and Saved Search help you find documents fast. Full-text search using background text extraction and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) helps you find documents based on their text content. And once you have referred to a document, you don’t have to “file it back” – because when you retrieve and open the document, it stays in its original location, unlike paper-based documents. This means there is almost no chance of them getting lost! This translates into secure documents.

• • Offers document-level access control
    

GLOBODOX is a document management tool that lets you allow or deny access to users on a per-document basis. So for any document, you can choose a particular user who you want to share the document with or restrict it from.

• • Restrict specific actions on certain documents
    

Not only does GLOBODOX let you restrict total access to a document; it also lets you restrict specific actions from being performed on the document. For example, you may need to share a document with your team member but want to make sure it doesn’t get deleted. GLOBODOX lets you do that, so your team member can view and maybe even edit the document, but not delete it. This is one more way GLOBODOX lets you secure documents.

• • Documents can be encrypted
    

GLOBODOX lets you store documents securely by encrypting them. When you encrypt a document, it cannot be opened or viewed using Windows Explorer. The only way to access the document would be by using GLOBODOX. So no one who is not a GLOBODOX user or who may be a GLOBODOX user but not have access to the document; will be able to access it. GLOBODOX lets you encrypt documents on an individual basis as well as in bulk.

• • Group-wise security
    

Every GLOBODOX user is assigned a group. You can only access documents owned by your group, its subgroups and any other documents shared specifically with you. But you cannot access other documents. It works the same way for users in groups that are higher than your group. Your group would thus be a subgroup of one such higher group. In GLOBODOX, these are known as Hierarchical Security Groups. This grouping system gives a sense of structure for securing and accessing documents in GLOBODOX.

• • Lets you back-up documents online
    

You might have secured your documents within GLOBODOX. But what if a disaster situation arises and your local servers and systems are destroyed? If your document management tool allows you to easily back-up your documents online, you are safe. GLOBODOX lets you do so using any online backup service. When you are back in business, you can quickly and easily recover your document databases.