Can sharing files without criteria put your company at risk?

Sharing files is a practice experienced by people across companies, whether documents, financial spreadsheets, internal reports, or even sensitive information.

However, this sharing is very dangerous, after all, this confidential information ends up circulating daily among employees, partners, and suppliers.

This makes the act of sharing be treated as something automatic, without due reflection on the criteria, permissions, and risks involved. It is at this point that agility, without controls, becomes a real risk for the business.

After all, indiscriminate file sharing can open doors to data leaks, exposure of strategic information, and even cyberattacks that exploit human and behavioral flaws.

What are the main risks of sharing files inappropriately?

When documents containing sensitive data or strategic information are sent without clear criteria for access, storage, or expiration date, the risk of leakage increases significantly.

Financial information, personal data of customers and employees, contracts, and strategic plans, when exposed, can generate direct impacts on the business, from financial losses to irreversible damage to the company's reputation.

In addition, insecure sharing practices create an environment conducive to phishing attacks and the spread of malware.

Malicious links and files often masquerade as legitimate documents, exploiting trust between teams and the fast-paced work routine.

A single click on a compromised file can result in data hijacking, disrupting operations, or compromising the entire corporate network, amplifying the scope and severity of the incident.

Another critical risk is related to the loss of compliance with security and privacy laws and standards, such as the LGPD and international standards such as ISO.

Uncontrolled sharing makes it difficult to trace information, manage access, and prove good practices required by regulatory bodies and audits.

In this context, in addition to legal sanctions and fines, the company may face operational restrictions and loss of confidence from customers, partners, and the market itself.

Why is the human factor a big problem when sharing files?

In corporate day-to-day life, it is common for employees to prioritize speed and convenience, sending documents through unauthorized channels, reusing unrestricted access links, or sharing files with more people than necessary.

These behaviors, often seen as harmless, significantly widen the attack surface and reduce the company's ability to control who accesses critical information.

Much of this risk is associated with a lack of perception about the real value of information.

Employees are not always able to identify which data is sensitive, strategic, or protected by laws and standards, treating critical content as common files.

This disconnect between the value of information and how it is shared weakens security policies and creates loopholes that can be exploited by malicious actors, both internally and externally.

Added to this, the false sense of security in digital environments contributes to wrong decisions.

In addition, excessive reliance on familiar tools, internal contacts, or widely used platforms leads many professionals to believe that the risk is low or non-existent.

However, without clear criteria, adequate controls, and a well-established security culture, the digital environment ceases to be an enabler and becomes a vector of exposure for the organization.

How to implement good practices for safe sharing?

In a scenario where information circulates quickly between people, areas, and partners, adopting good practices such as clear policies, information classification, access control, and the use of secure tools is essential.

After all, these actions help reduce risks, strengthen governance, and create a consistent security culture, capable of balancing operational agility and corporate data protection.

Definition of clear policies and criteria

Organizations need to establish objective guidelines on what types of information can be shared, through which channels, with what permission levels, and in what situations.

These policies must be simple, accessible and compatible with the work dynamics, avoiding ambiguities that lead to misinterpretations.

Moreover, effective policies cannot exist only on paper. They must be communicated continuously, reinforced by training, and incorporated into day-to-day processes.

When employees understand the criteria and the reason behind the rules, adherence tends to be higher and the risk of inappropriate sharing decreases consistently.

Classification of information

By categorizing data as public, internal, sensitive, or restricted, the company creates a clear standard that guides decisions about sharing, storage, and access.

Without this classification, critical information ends up being treated as ordinary files, increasing the risk of exposure. This process also facilitates the application of technical and administrative controls. 

With the information properly classified, it is possible to automatically define who can access certain content, for how long and under what conditions.

This makes sharing more secure and reduces reliance on individual decisions based solely on the employee's judgment. Which brings more security to organizations and people.

Access control and traceability

Ensuring that only authorized people can view, edit, or share files drastically reduces the risk of leaks and misuse.

For this to happen, it is essential to implement the principle of least privilege and on-demand access, these actions help to limit the exposure of information to what is strictly necessary for the execution of activities.

In addition, traceability complements this control by allowing the company to know who accessed, altered, or shared a file and when this occurred.

This visibility is critical for both incident prevention and response, and is an important requirement for audits and compliance with standards and legislation.

Use of secure and company-approved tools

Platforms that offer encryption, permission management, activity logging, and integration with security policies allow for more effective control over the circulation of information.

This is because the use of unauthorized solutions hinders governance and increases blind spots for the security area.

Thus, for these tools to be adopted consistently, they need to be functional, intuitive, and aligned with the needs of users.

When the company offers secure solutions that do not compromise productivity, the employee tends to use them correctly, reducing the search for insecure alternatives and strengthening the organization's security posture.

What is the role of safety awareness and culture?

Awareness and the construction of a security culture play a central role in reducing risks related to file sharing and the use of information in companies.

This is because technologies and policies alone are not enough if employees do not understand their role in data protection.

In this way, when safety is understood as a collective responsibility, day-to-day decisions become more judicious, reducing behaviors that put the organization at risk.

Continuous employee training is one of the main pillars of this culture, after all, it is through these actions that people are made aware of the risks of sharing documents.

In addition, constant updates on threats, best practices, and real-world scenarios help keep the topic alive and relevant, especially in a context of increasingly sophisticated attacks.

At the same time, clear and recurring communication about risks allows you to reinforce key messages, correct misperceptions and guide behaviors, preventing safety from being remembered only after an incident.

For this process to be effective, security needs to be part of the routine, and not be treated as an exception or an operational obstacle.

When safe practices are integrated into workflows, the tools used, and everyday decisions, they are no longer seen as bureaucracy and become a habit.

This cultural maturation strengthens the company's security posture and contributes directly to the protection of the business's most valuable assets, which are information.

PhishX helps people share files securely

PhishX helps organizations understand how employees' day-to-day decisions directly impact exposure to threats, strengthening risk perception and individual responsibility in the use of information.

Through continuous awareness programs, hands-on training, and educational campaigns, our ecosystem contributes to the development of safer and more consistent behaviors.

The actions are designed to reflect real situations experienced by employees, addressing topics such as:

• File sharing;

• Risk identification;

• Social engineering;

• Safe use of digital tools.

All in a clear, accessible way and in line with the work routine. In addition, PhishX provides visibility and metrics that enable companies to track the evolution of security maturity over time.

This monitoring enables strategic adjustments, reinforcement of key messages and data-driven decision-making, transforming awareness into a continuous and measurable process.

In this way, PhishX helps to consolidate security as part of the organizational culture and not just as a one-off initiative. Want to know how? Contact our experts and learn more.

Be careful when sharing files indiscriminately; this can put your company at risk.