By Erik Small -

An April survey conducted by MeriTalk, a government information technology provider,  titled “Why Encrypt? Federal File Transfer Report,” found that data security vulnerabilities at federal agencies are mainly due to employees’ use of unsecure methods to exchange information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Specifically, the report shows that federal employees use unsafe methods to transfer files in the following ways:

• 66 percent use physical media (e.g., tapes, CDs, DVDs, USB drives, etc.).
• 60 percent use FTP.
• 52 percent send work files through personal e-mail accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, etc.).

This article on Government Computer News goes on to mention the insecure methods of sharing data/information. This reinforces the need to deploy secure file transfer methods in not only government agencies, but in the private business sectors as well.

Ipswitch File Transfer recently released an Ad Hoc Transfer Module application that provides unparalleled governance, and allows end users to share information, with anyone, in a fast, easy, secure, visible, and well managed way.  

Used in conjunction with any of the industry-leading WS_FTP Server products, the Ad Hoc Transfer module enables companies to proactively manage file transfer and other interactions. It also allows companies to create and enforce policies such as data and transport encryption, access control and authentication, data loss prevention, and content management.