Standard FTP can put an organization's data at risk, given the sophistication of today's cyber attacks. Are you willing to let your company take that risk?

Editor's Note: This article is a review of the Webcast "Beyond FTP: Securing and Automating File Transfers" available to view free from the MC Press Webcast Center.

Today's networks are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber attacks, which means standard FTP encryption tools used by IT professionals often fail to safeguard the transmission of sensitive corporate data.

Cyber criminals continue to attack companies, using sniffer tools, non-switch shared hubs, and unsecured wireless networks to access data. Such lost data costs corporations about $200 per record, said Bob Luebbe, chief architect for Linoma Software, in a Webcast dubbed "Beyond FTP: Securing and Automating File Transfers." In total, data security breaches may cost corporations millions to fix the problem, including contacting affected clients, developing a public relations campaign to regain trust, and recruiting new clients to replace the ones lost due to the breach, he said.

One solution is to rethink standard FTP. In the Webcast, Luebbe exposes the pitfalls of using standard FTP and believes the outdated protocol's security loopholes expose sensitive data to hackers. He also provides secure alternatives to FTP to protect data transfers.

Indeed, Luebbe said organizations are starting to move away from standard FTP in order to meet privacy policies and compliance requirements, such as PCI DSS, SOX, and HIPAA. This includes moving beyond modern authentication techniques, such as user IDs and passwords. Currently, these techniques let hackers intercept transmitted data or even modify data before it's delivered to the end user, he said.

Other alternatives to secure the data pipe include using OpenPGP protocol to encrypt files and/or connection encryption, Luebbe said. He provides several other recommendations in the Webcast, including a live demonstration of the company's secure, managed file transfer solution, GoAnywhere Director. The solution lets users set up and automate secure file transfers without the need for scripts or programming.

Find out more about protecting your valuable data! View the Webcast!

Mary Rose Roberts is a professional journalist and editor for the business-to-business press, with an emphasis on wireless technologies and public safety. She also is the editor of NextGenGreen, a blog with tips on how to reuse, recycle, and renew through eco-conscious living.