What are Efficient Data Rooms?
A virtual data room, also known as a VDR or deal room, is an electronic information vault used to store and share documents. An MA transaction, loan syndication, or private equity and venture capital deal frequently use a virtual data room to streamline the due diligence process.
Virtual data rooms have largely replaced the more conventional physical data rooms since they are more affordable, efficient, and secure. The question of how to establish such solutions and control waste within them is of great interest to many people.
The process of working with a VDR is very simple and includes only 4 simple steps:
- The agent software is installed on the workstation, after which the encryption keys are exchanged between the server and the client. It is possible to work with the virtual data room without installing an agent – using a web browser;
- The administrator, or a user with the necessary rights, selects a directory for synchronizing documents with the corporate data warehouse;
- Data in the synchronized directory becomes available on the user’s desktop PCs and authorized mobile devices;
- If necessary, the user can create virtual data rooms in addition to workspaces-shared folders for collaborating on documents with their employees.
The Need to Secure Virtual Data Rooms
First of all, you need to protect the cloud storage itself. Cloud infrastructure security means protecting not only the external perimeter but also communication channels, as well as competent management of identification and access to cloud resources. The cloud technology market is actively developing. According to IDC, spending on public cloud data room services will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.4% by 2025 and exceed $3 billion. Consequently, the relevance of protecting cloud infrastructure will also increase.
Secondly, you need to protect the files themselves, located in virtual storage and cloud environments. It is worth paying attention not only to the usual functionality of delegating the rights to view, edit, or manage a document to one or another employee or external counterparty, but also to protect the file itself. Here you can use various DLP and DRM tools. They will allow you to control access to documents and limit the number of actions they can take. According to analysts, in recent years, both areas have developed dynamically, especially against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and increased demand for efficient remote work, which, in addition to data room software solutions for working with content and its storage, also requires a high level of protection of the remote workplace and data.
Thirdly, you need to protect the document and its content. It is important to consider that DLP solutions will not be able to help when it comes to taking pictures with a phone – when, for example, an intruder simply uses his smartphone to compromise a confidential document. A more comprehensive approach is needed to solve this problem. The most effective way seems to be the use of a secure VDR-space in conjunction with a unique invisible marking of documents (not to be confused with watermarks), which is preserved when photographed and which, in the event of a leak, can be used to identify exactly who committed illegal actions with a document, up to the name. For more solutions visit this website.
Labels or Watermarks?
First of all, watermarks often interfere with the reading of the document itself, partially blocking the content. Secondly, they are easy to remove and erase in the editor. Among other things, they cannot determine the specific source in the event of a leak. At the same time, invisible marking wins on all counts and also provides a preventive effect for a large number of potential threats that a company may face as part of information security. To understand if it’s better to use labels or watermarks, compare virtual data rooms because every service provides different functionality.
If we analyze how such marking in the electronic data room works, then everything is quite simple: all documents entering the system are automatically marked with invisible marks based on the steganographic approach, and micro-shifts occur with a change in the distances between words, lines, paragraphs, etc. At the same time, the visual representation of the document remains the same, making it impossible to recognize the mark with the naked eye. In the event of a leak of documents from such a VDR, it is possible to examine the compromised fragment by simply uploading it to the system and determining the source.
Managing All Waste with Virtual Data Rooms
To manage all the processes, losses, and opportunities in virtual data rooms, you can follow just a few simple steps:
- Upload documents to the virtual data room (VDR) and ensure data security.
- Set up access to files and folders and exchange documents with external and internal partners.
- Get personal stamped copies of documents every time you open them.
- Determine the source in the event of a document leak, even from a photo or screenshot of a fragment.
An efficient solution for managing, storing, and exchanging documents with internal and external agents is a virtual data room. You may arrange relaxed cooperation inside the workflow using the functional capabilities of VDR, such as creating folders and restricting access privileges.
However, if we make data room comparisons, it will be clear that both the cloud storage itself and the information held within require security, which can only be achieved through a convoluted method: employing a secured VDR space in conjunction with covert document tagging. When a corporation uses this solution, it will have a preventative impact and be able to pinpoint the source of any information leaks.
Conclusion
Using the best data room providers, you may set up a safe deposit box where you can control who has access and permanently watermark sensitive papers. You may safeguard data throughout the life of the document, including after it is unloaded from the virtual data room, thanks to the DRM protection component built into the platform, which is a complete counterpart of AD RMS.
