Cyber Defense eMagazine December Edition for 2021

If you’re running a business, then the number of documents and records that you need to keep track of
grows exponentially. And the more you’re relying on paper-based processes, the less efficient your
business will be on a day-to-day basis – especially if your business is geographically dispersed across
multiple locations, or, like so many businesses today, you have employees working remotely.
Ditching those bulky filing cabinets and replacing them with digital files that are quickly and easily
searchable and accessible will enable you to save time, improve productivity and reduce operating costs
now, while also putting you in good stead for the future.
Of course, it’s one thing to have digital records of all your documents. But the real question is how you
can store and share these files securely, because if you can’t do that, you may as well have just set all
that paper on fire yourself.
And perhaps most importantly, you need to ensure that the right people – and only the right people – are
able to access those files when you’re not around to share them anymore. Because ultimately, that’s
what your digital legacy is all about.
Clouding the issue: Securing your digital legacy
To get value out of going digital, you need to store your files in a system that’s both easy to manage and
truly secure. This is something I found out the hard way.
I was working as an accountant when my father passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010, leaving
me with the task of rounding up and managing his will, superannuation details and other legal documents
and files for my mother.
Losing a loved one is extremely hard – in some cases, it might be the hardest thing you ever go through.
And, though it’s never been easier to digitise our documents, it can be overwhelming for our next of kin
to track down and gain access to these documents at a time when they’re already distressed.
It’s not something we tend to think about – or, for that matter, something we want to think about – but it’s
important that we can easily pass on this information when we pass away.
Knowing that data storage devices like hard drives and thumb drives were no safer in the event of a
natural disaster than paper documents (and much easier to lose), I went looking for a secure cloud-based
solution – and ended up having to create my own.
I didn’t want other people to have the same challenges that I did in such a difficult time. I was also thinking
about my accounting clients at the time. What if something happened to me? I had ownership of all their
business strategy and financial documents, which they likely wouldn’t have gotten back. That could have
crippled their businesses.
I thought there had to be a solution on the market that enabled businesses and individuals to own their
data; to create digital documents that would stand up in court as well as the paper-based originals; and
to nominate a party or parties to be able to access the documents in the event of a loss. But I found that
this technology and this level of security simply did not exist, so I set off on my journey to create both.
Cyber Defense eMagazine – December 2021 Edition 120
Copyright © 2021, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.