Why E-mail File Sharing Can Be Dangerous

Email is a service widely used by Internet users. It is an interesting way to be in contact not only on a personal level, but also between companies. There are many platforms that we can use and are available for all kinds of systems and devices. Now, not only do they serve to send an email, but we can make use of different tools, to share files, host content … In this article we are going to explain why it is not always a good idea to share files by email .

It is not a good idea to share files by email

Among all the possibilities that email offers us, one of them is to send attachments. It is useful, although it is true that it is very limited in terms of size. However, this could also pose a problem for our security and privacy if we do not take adequate measures or if we over-trust ourselves.

Why E-mail File Sharing Can Be Dangerous

It is true that it is something simple, comfortable and fast. We don’t need anything additional. Let’s say for example that we want to share some text files with other users. We can make use of many types of tools that are available for all kinds of devices and systems. However this implies installing software, that the other person also has it, etc.

Something simpler and faster is to simply share those files via email . Now, is this safe? That could be a problem for our security and privacy.

If we talk about the most common method of sharing files on the Internet, that is email. This is demonstrated by a report by NordLocker where they have surveyed users and about 57% of them have indicated that the method they use most to share files with others is e-mail.

Mejoras de seguridad con DMARC

Why it is not safe to share files by email

Now, why can sharing sensitive files by email be a problem? Keep in mind that current providers, the most important at least, have adequate encryption and security measures. However, we must also take into account that there may be intruders on our accounts, attackers who in one way or another gain access. This means that our files would be fully exposed.

It should also be mentioned that some email providers do not correctly encrypt our emails. This means that if we send some content to another user, in the course of sending there could be intruders who could access the content.

Also keep in mind that it is normal for us to send those files without any encryption . Therefore, our advice is that if we are going to choose to share files by email and they are going to be sensitive, the ideal is to encrypt them before sharing them. We must also choose to use platforms that ensure end-to-end encryption, as well as keep our accounts perfectly secure with strong and complex passwords.

We leave you an article where we talk about how different types of encryption protect data.