Email is the most efficient, cost-effective and speedy way to communicate information. It’s a convenient and quick alternative to traffic jams, postal delays, fax machine disruptions, and crowded telephone lines. Its ease of use can hide its inherent dangers when it comes to exchanging sensitive documents.

Once your sensitive data leaves your server there is no control over where it goes or who sees it. Even if you’ve got email encryption, which provides an additional layer of security, it will not protect against the kind of “man-in-the-middle” attacks that could occur if an individual could take over your email while it is in transit.

It is best to utilize an outside company that is specialized in secure documents exchange. This will ensure that the confidential information of your customers will never fall into the wrong hands. A secure document exchange system allows you to monitor the users and editors of the customer’s information.

If you must send confidential information via email, the best practices and a dependable NDA can help you manage the risks. For instance limit the number specific information items you send only to what is necessary for your task and avoid including them in multiple emails. For extra security, you can use a password-protected file instead of sending the file as an attachment. Alternatively, include email for exchanging confidential documents a confidentiality statement automatically in your emails. Whatever method you choose to utilize make sure you clearly define your expectations for the recipients of confidential information in your NDAs.