What Makes a Secure Cloud MFT Solution?

Originally published by Axway.

Written by Paul Lavery, VP, Product Line for Managed File Transfer (MFT), Axway.

 

It’s not an overstatement that secure data and file transfers are a top priority virtually everywhere today. 2023 saw the discovery of 15 critical vulnerabilities, with some 62 million people’s personal data compromised.

From stolen or compromised credentials to malicious insider attacks, zero-day vulnerabilities, or cloud misconfigurations, MFT teams across regions and in all industries are facing a once-in-a-generation file data breach crisis.

With billions of dollars at stake to keep valuable and sensitive data secure, it’s more important than ever to trust your managed file transfer solution. Many vendors are learning the hard way that security is a shared responsibility, and it is critical to put in place the right framework to protect and be proactive.

Here’s a look at why so many enterprises are consolidating MFT operations and switching to more secure, cloud-based product and service vendors.

 

Growing adoption of cloud MFT

Enterprises need to be able to innovate and grow their business without inopportune interruptions and incidents. Modern managed file transfer (MFT) provides a reliable way to transfer critical business data internally and externally, with built-in security features like data encryption.

Meanwhile, new controls and architectures are helping accelerate MFT services delivery. Eliminating any downtime of MFT operations with Sys/Dev-Ops automation has become a priority requirement.

In a world of digital transformation, cloud-based managed file transfer solutions simply make sense from a scalability, flexibility, and cost standpoint.

Cloud MFT solutions are owned and operated by third-party providers, requiring less maintenance and upgrades from internal IT teams. Cloud MFT is faster and more cost-effective to set up and can be configured in flexible cloud deployments.

Yet there is a common hang-up in the adoption of cloud MFT solutions, as with other cloud solutions: questions around security.

 

How secure is cloud MFT?

Many people tend to see information as safer stored on premises than it is in data centers managed by large cloud providers.

But the reality is that data stored on a laptop – which can be easily stolen – is more at risk for a breach than data hosted on major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure.

That’s because these providers are backed by the work of world-class security experts to create an infrastructure that meets today’s most stringent security standards. And with a managed cloud service, the managed cloud MFT provider has a team of experts actively involved in protecting your enterprise against the latest threats.

 

File transfer software has undergone significant evolutions

There is growing demand for MFT in the cloud that is always up and fully secured. New controls and architectures help accelerate MFT services delivery (i.e., cloud, outsourcing, hybrid, DevOps, full service), while the disruption of long-standing security positions usher in the beginning of a Zero Trust approach for MFT.

Modern managed file transfer solutions include end-to-end encryption, audit trails, and access controls that make it harder for cybercriminals to access sensitive information.

Built-in alerts also provide an additional layer of security. Your IT team can configure the real-time alerts on file transfer completion based on a set of rules that your company creates.

Possible alerts could include:

• Sending
• Sent
• Receiving
• Received
• Failed
• Canceled
• Temporary Failed
• Permanently Failed

Every event, whether it’s the commencement of a transfer, its completion, or failures, should be logged to a central database by your MFT solution. It’s just another feature that adds to the security of cloud MFT solutions.

Monitoring file transfer activity from a single administration console offers end-to-end visibility that makes it easier to detect recurring patterns in file transfers (for better or for worse) and prevents blind spots that can ultimately lead to cybersecurity breakdowns.

Predictive analytics help IT personnel properly assess vulnerabilities at a glance. And automated workflows allow teams to encrypt and transfer files according to their organization’s requirements.

Modern MFT solutions leverage APIs to help configure and provision file transfers or integrate applications. Traditional MFT integrations involve quite a bit of coding, as well as an expert understanding of IT processes. Intelligent MFT, on the other hand, simplifies things by offering a visual programming tool that uses a set of connectors to make MFT integrations more intuitive.

Embracing Sys/Dev-Ops automation has practically become a requirement, as it allows enterprises to bolster their security posture, streamline operations, and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

We even speak of “self-healing” MFT today, especially as it becomes more and more difficult to maintain MFT-skilled staff. The features described above around monitoring, analytics, and API-driven commands contribute to automation so that a system can autonomously detect and resolve issues or errors that arise during file transfer processes.

This enables the MFT system to maintain continuous operation and ensure the reliable and secure transfer of files without the need for manual intervention – even in the face of unexpected disruptions or failures.

 

A proven track record is the greatest MFT security benchmark

One final but critical element in evaluating the security of cloud MFT solutions is a provider’s track record.

Enterprises can’t afford to gamble with security of their critical infrastructure – and that’s precisely what MFT is for many organizations today. A data breach cost on average $9.48M in the U.S. last year – and it’s even higher ($10.9 M) for healthcare companies.

And when one out of ten enterprises reported they recently experienced a breach because of a vulnerability they didn’t even know to look for, it’s always a good time to reevaluate the strength of your MFT security.

One of the surest markers of trust for an MFT product is if the provider has a long track record of security and resiliency in large enterprise cloud file transfer.

One way to get a sense of an MFT provider’s track record is by consulting user reviews. G2, the world’s leading business solution review platform, collects peer user reviews and also rates software products to determine quarterly awards and leadership.

 

Best practices for secure cloud MFT

Beyond choosing a reputable provider with a strong track record of security, some best practices for cloud MFT security include:

• Implementing access controls and encryption
• Conducting regular security audits and assessments
• Training employees on cloud MFT security best practices
• Adopting a Zero Trust approach to enterprise security
• Keeping MFT software up to date at all times.

We’ve covered the Zero Trust security model for MFT in greater detail over here, but the following first steps give you a sense of how a Zero Trust security model is crafted:

1. Catalog and understand the data being moved through your system
2. Determine how and where you’re going to centralize your identity
3. Determine the governance model for each of the individual data flows
4. Enable infrastructure visibility and connect it to AI and SIEM technology
5. Rationalize your current and future plans in terms of your MFT systems

No single solution can deliver Zero Trust security – rather, MFT and cloud providers can work alongside customers and providers to validate appropriate solutions and provide guidance along the Zero Trust security journey.

Another essential practice for securing files and data is keeping MFT systems up to date. Teams often drag their feet on these because they’re hesitant to disrupt business, yet failing to perform updates opens their organization up to vulnerabilities.

It’s why zero downtime updates are becoming a reality, appealing especially to those with high-value file transfer operations relying on uninterrupted service, necessitating 24/7/365 availability.