Share Data Securely

Care must be taken when sharing confidential data, and confidential data should only be shared using methods approved by the University. 

Sharing through Microsoft 365

Western's Microsoft 365 environment is approved and well suited for sharing of confidential data. If you need an ongoing collaboration with a small group, try using a Microsoft SharePoint site or Team.  If you need to share a file or folder on an ad-hoc basis or if you are sharing with someone outside of Western, try creating a secure sharing link from a OneDrive or SharePoint site then sending it via an encrypted email.

Sharing through email

One thing you should not do is to email confidential data unencrypted outside of Western.  Western's email system does have the ability to encrypt email, however.  Please note that the encryption feature will only encrypt Microsoft Word attachments.  If you need to share other types of documents (e.g., PDF or images), put them into OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams, then create a sharing link that can be sent to an external user in an encrypted email.

If you work with confidential data in other University systems, and need to share with an external user, you will have to configure access control and a sharing link for your external collaborator.  The sharing link can be sent by encrypted email.  

For additional information on data sharing, see the ATUS File Storage, File Sharing, and Backups page.

Sharing through video conferencing

When doing a video conference, ensure that all programs that do not need to be open, are closed.  This is particularly important if the open programs might provide a view of confidential data which should not be seen by your conference partner(s).  Also, use Teams for sharing, when confidential data is involved.  The University's contract with Zoom does not include some security and privacy agreements found it Teams.

Sharing Through Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

The University has an SFTP server for use by business offices.  SFTP works well for automated file transfers.  You will need to consult with Enterprise Application Services for assistance is setting up a SFTP transfer.