6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk - IBM
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6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk
Introduction
FTP-based solutions File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Secure FTP Studies show that 88% of organizations
(SFTP) are among the most widely used have difficulty moving big data quickly and
were never designed methods for file sharing. efficiently1 and the average cost per lost
to handle the exploding or stolen record is $146 USD.2 FTP-based
Part of the appeal is that they are simple solutions were never designed to handle the
need for fast, secure to use and often free or very inexpensive. exploding need for fast, secure and scalable
and scalable exchange of Typically, organizations get started with exchange of digital information.
FTP because they have an occasional need
digital information. to send non-sensitive files. The technology Organizations can’t afford to rely on FTP
works well in these situations, but when as their “go to” method for demanding
used more broadly it can put your business workloads. To help you understand its
at risk. limitations and hidden costs, let’s explore
six ways FTP can prevent you from reliably
connecting with all the people, systems and
data that matter to your business.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 2
01
Security weaknesses
Even SFTP lacks security Critical data needs to remain secure Recent research reveals that more than 400
and under your control, but FTP was not million files from FTP servers are publicly
controls to handle today’s designed with secure file transfer in mind available online.3 When files are exposed,
cyber threats. and SFTP lacks security controls to handle FTP doesn’t log security violations or
today’s cyber threats. For example: authenticate users – basic capabilities you
Regulatory standards are tightening as need to help detect and stop breaches.
large-scale breaches continue to make – User IDs and passwords to login to FTP
headline news. servers and send files aren’t always
protected.
Even minor lapses in security can damage – Encryption is an afterthought requiring
your reputation, send your stock value extra steps and IT expertise, making it
plummeting and result in massive costs. difficult, expensive and time-consuming
to send files safely.
– FTP clients are common and free, giving
every hacker the tools necessary to
attempt to breach your critical systems.
– These security weaknesses and other
vulnerabilities make it easy to intercept
FTP-based file transfers.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 3
02
Lack of control
FTP sends files on a first- As a solution designed primarily for ad-hoc Without these management capabilities,
transmissions, FTP sends files on a first- you can’t prioritize critical transfers,
come, first-served basis. come, first-served basis. You can’t: balance processing windows, or respond to
immediate business needs.
Seconds count when you’re transmitting
– Create enforceable policies to schedule
an order for an annuities trade, payroll
critical transfers above lower-priority
information to your processing system or
work.
benefits data to meet an enrollment window.
– Reserve transmission channels for
sensitive transfers based on business
If you can’t manage network resources and
requirements.
processing windows based on business
– Interrupt and re-prioritize transfers on
priorities, data gets stale and loses value,
the fly to take advantage of last-minute
and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are
opportunities or deal with emergencies.
missed, which can result in fines.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 4
03
Blind Spots
You can’t fix what you can’t However, FTP can’t: You can’t fix what you can’t see, and with
FTP you only discover failures when you feel
see, and with FTP you only – Instantly notify you when a delay or the pain. Your file transfer system should
discover failures when you failure happens. provide you with full visibility to remove
– Route notifications to team members blind spots and address issues across your
feel the pain. who can quickly fix the issue. network before they become a problem.
– Present log file activity across your
You don’t want to learn about a transmission
entire environment so you can
problem from a partner or customer.
proactively address the issue.
When a file is delayed or isn’t transferred at
all, you need to be notified in real time so
you can proactively correct problems before
they impact downstream business activities.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 5
04
Manual recovery from failures
With FTP, you are often in With FTP, you are often in fire-fighting Network outages and errors happen. You
mode because: need a file transfer technology that helps
fire-fighting mode. you automatically handle disruptions
– FTP can’t recover a failed connection reliably and quickly.
These capabilities modernize your business
automatically, so you must restart the
network, making it faster and more efficient,
process manually.
speeding transactions, information flows,
– FTP doesn’t include checkpoint restart,
sharing, and onboarding of suppliers and
requiring you to resend entire files
partners.
regardless of how much was previously
sent.
With AI, you can improve supplier and
– You have to discover the failure on your
partner collaboration and interaction to build
own, which further delays resending the
frictionless, productive and advantageous
affected files.
business relationships.
– Errors require several calls and emails
with multiple parties to correct.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 6
05
Unproductive use of resources
IT teams spend hours or Custom scripting, scheduling and integration With FTP, file transfer quickly becomes a
can help bridge the requirements gap, burden, when it should work seamlessly
days custom coding FTP to but it also creates new points of failure, behind the scenes to power your business.
deal with challenges. maintenance headaches and wastes
valuable resources. Rather than working on
Clearly, FTP comes up short in meeting more strategic activities, IT teams spend
the needs of modern business and IT hours or days custom coding FTP to deal
requirements. with challenges like:
– File transfers that are sent without
regard to business priorities.
– Partner onboarding that is complex,
labor-intensive and often takes weeks to
complete.
– Manual, error-prone processes that
increase risk to the business.
– Growing file transfer volumes that FTP
isn’t intrinsically equipped to handle.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 7
06
Cost of poor performance
Over time, most You can even lose business if you develop Over time, most organizations realize they
a reputation for being unreliable. Situations can no longer afford their “free” FTP service.
organizations realize they that result in a data breach and non-
can no longer afford their compliance with security.
“free” FTP service. FTP solutions don’t provide core capabilities
organizations need to monitor performance,
Failure to meet transmission or file transfer
such as:
SLAs can cost your organization millions of
dollars in fees and penalties.
– Transfer confirmations
– Failure notifications
– SLA management tools
– Security alerts
– Detailed and consolidated activity logs
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 8
Conclusion
IBM Sterling Secure File Organizations increasingly rely on digital Securely move data at the speed and scale
file transfer solutions to securely exchange of your business. See it in action.
Transfer provides simple, growing volumes of sensitive data between Watch the demo.
secure and scalable file- people and systems. In fact, more than
50% of all systems integration is still done
based transactions, without through file transfer1, which is why having
the hidden costs of a secure, scalable solution that’s designed
to support your business needs and goals is
FTP/SFTP. essential.
IBM’s Managed File Transfer solutions
provide a battle-tested platform that has
the greatest share of the managed file
transfer market according to multiple,
leading analyst firms. IBM Sterling Secure
File Transfer offering gives you everything
you need to get started quickly and deploy
the platform. It provides simple, secure and
scalable file-based transactions, without the
hidden costs of FTP/SFTP.
IBM Sterling 6 Ways FTP/SFTP is Putting Your Business at Risk 9
Next steps
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January 2021
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IBM Sterling Secure File Transfer How Equifax modernized their Speak with an expert merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and any warranty or
condition of non-infringement.
MFT platform
IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the
IBM Sterling Secure File Transfer provides Learn how IBM can help you agreements under which they are provided.
a unified file transfer platform so you Hear how a next-generation MFT platform achieve simple, secure and scalable
can securely share and track mission- enhanced Equifax’s security compliance file-based transfers. Sources
critical information movement within your levels and became a cornerstone of their
1. Vanson Bourne, IBM Supply Chain Data Report, Nov 2017
enterprise and across your partner network. digital transformation initiatives.
2. Ponemon Institute’s 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Study,
https://www.ibm.com/security/data-breach
3. Digital Shadows, Too Much Information Misconfigured FTP, SMB,
Rsync, and S3 Buckets Exposing 1.5 Billion Files, 2019,
https://resources.digitalshadows.com/whitepapers-and-reports/
Read Solution Brief (1.4 MB) à Watch webinar à Request a consultation à too-much-information-misconfigured-ftp-smb-rsync-and-s3-
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