Can Faxes Be Hacked? (And Other Security Questions)

Security is a major reason why fax technology has evolved to its current state and remained a popular form of document transmission well into the 21^st century. When businesses and organizations who handle sensitive information look for an IT solution, whether it serves as a method of document storage, transmission or viewing, they make sure the system will fit their security and compliance needs.

There are always questions related to security that surround enterprise fax solutions.  We’ve addressed a few of the most common questions here.

Can Faxes Be Hacked?

While email and other technology connected to the Internet is susceptible to hacking, standard faxes are much more secure because they use telephony lines to send messages that are converted into images.

Fax servers using RightFax, can be used to send fax messages bound to email messages.  These messages are much more secure than standard emails because of the fax security that is in place. There are also encryption modules that can be added to RightFax to make the messages you send even more secure.

Can Faxes Contain Viruses?

Emails can contain links that lead to any number of viruses, malware and other malicious software that is specifically coded to infect computers, steal information and cause harm to IT technology.  Fax messages do not suffer from this problem. In fact, there are even email messages that pose as fax messages.  These malicious emails try to convince users that they are being notified that they have a received a fax. It is these email messages, not true faxes bound to email messages, that contain viruses.

What About Compliance and Industry Regulations?

While fax servers will help keep confidential information secure from outside influences, it’s not always 100% guaranteed to prevent compliance issues. This is not due to any inherent defect in fax technology, but because nothing can account for human error, which is where most breaches of compliance and data security occur.  Fax servers like RightFax help users maintain compliance through many features:

• Integration with document storage systems, eliminating the need to print and scan sensitive information.
• Creating audit trails for documents and client data.
• Providing authentication based on who is sending and receiving the email.
• Allowing admins to set user permissions based on what information they are allowed to access.

Using fax technology like RightFax enables your employees to maintain compliance while sending and receiving faxes in the most secure way possible.

Have Any Other Security-Related Fax Questions? Contact The Fax Guys and Let Us Know What Concerns We Can Address.