Cyber Security Case Study
Challenge: Our clients provide Mitchell Hayes with highly confidential and personal documents. The documents include every type of financial documentation imaginable such as:
- Tax Forms
- W2s
- I099s
- Pay Check Stubs
- Bank Statements
- Investment Account Statements
- Credit card statements
- Asset and Debt details
- Real Estate Data
- Businesses owned and all relevant financial documents
Typically, clients use e-mail which could pose a significant risk if there were a data breach. If a breach were to occur due to insecure e-mail communications, the client’s financial identity would be at risk and Mitchell Hayes would become vulnerable to brand damage if our client’s highly sensitive information was exposed to the public while in the firm’s care. The client could be exposed for years to come and the firm could lose credibility. Knowing that this very real threat has exposed firms such as Target, Home Depot, and even the IRS; Mitchell Hayes was committed to finding a secure way to protect our clients and the firm’s brand.
Solution: To ensure that Mitchell Hayes is doing everything possible to protect our client’s financial identities as well as the firm’s brand, the firm partnered with Intralinks solutions. In addition to internal licenses we were also provided with unlimited external licenses to collaborate with our clients and their attorneys. The solution allows the firm to invite our clients to a secure Workspace where they can upload many files at once. Each file is encrypted when loaded to prevent a breach of data. Intralinks VIA® is a collaboration solution with “bank-grade” security. For 17 years Intralinks has been protecting content with Intralinks secure content collaboration solutions. With VIA® Solutions Information Rights Management (IRM), we will know exactly where content is, inside and outside the firewall, and have control over content regardless of where it resides or travels. Most importantly, we can revoke access to files on PC’s and Mobile devices even after downloaded. In some complex cases, there can possibly be hundreds of documents uploaded at once and each is encrypted with a unique “key”. When activity takes place in the workspace, the participants receive an e-mail notification where they can click a link to sign in to their secure workspace and review the new documents. From there, they can easily view, download, and comment on the materials that were provided to them. The solution provides an overall efficient way to share and collaborate with clients and significantly reduces the risk of data breach. Thus, the client’s financial identity is secure and Mitchell Hayes is protected from brand damage, and ultimate monetary penalty, if the client’s data were accidentally exposed while in the care of the firm.
