Whether you’re sharing data with co-workers, other companies, or customers, Wickr is the preferred messaging solution. More and more organizations are using Wickr’s encrypted communication tools to secure their data sharing, make secure voice and video calls, collaborate with screen sharing, and more. Using the Wickr IO Integration Gateway, your team can seamlessly integrate Wickr with the other applications your team regularly uses.
It’s easy for organizations to get started with Wickr with support for all your team’s platforms — Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, and Linux. Plus, Wickr is completely free for the first 10 users!
End-to-End Encrypted Communications
Wickr was designed to be a secure collaboration platform. When you’re communicating with other Wickr users-inside or outside your company-your messages are encrypted end to end. The encryption starts with the message sender, and the message stays encrypted while it’s transmitted to the recipient. It is decrypted only when the recipient applies the encryption/decryption key. Anyone trying to access the message mid-stream will not be able to decrypt and read the data.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, only 22% of global communication traffic is end-to-end encrypted. Wickr’s state-of-the-art military-grade encryption is the most secure available today and ensures that any information shared via messaging, voice calls, or video chats remains private.
Share Files-Safely and Securely
In addition to normal communications, Wickr enables users to send files to one another using the same end-to-end encryption. Users can send as many files as they want in any format (yes seriously anything) up to 10 GB in size or larger (depending on your configuration). Those files are transferred encrypted and are stored encrypted until opened by the end users.
Desktop PC users need simply drag and drop a document, photo, or other file to securely send it to other users. Mobile users can share a file by tapping the paperclip icon in the app and selecting the file to send.
The files you send are encrypted on the sender’s device and remain encrypted until opened by the end users. Wickr’s end-to-end encryption ensures that anyone trying to steal the file during transmission will not only not be able to decrypt it they can’t tell the difference between sending a file or a text or a call.
Automatically Delete Shared Files
Files sent via Wickr represent a security risk if they’re saved on the recipient’s device or host server. A more secure solution is to delete files after they’ve been received or to store them in a secure location.
For this reason, data files sent via Wickr have a set expiration timer. When users receive a file via Wickr, they can opt to open or export/save the file. When a file is opened, it is decrypted into a temporary file and opened in the associated application.
These temporary files are designed to disappear after a set interval. This is done via Wickr’s auto destruct feature. By default, the Wickr app continually scans the directory where temp files are stored and deletes any files found there.
If a recipient selects the export/save options when a file is received, Wickr decrypts the file outside the app and stores it in plain text on the recipient’s device or server. Companies can then apply device- or server-based encryption to ensure that the stored file is encrypted at rest. This essentially implements a second layer of file encryption to securely store the data file.
Securely Shred Deleted Data
When files are automatically deleted after receipt, Wickr’s anti-forensic routines go to work to clean up the deleted data.
A survey by Blancco found that 42% of supposedly “clean” hard drives still contained recoverable data. Under normal conditions, special tools can be used to recover data thought to be deleted. This lets malicious third parties circumvent normal data deletion processes.
To guard against unauthorized data recovery, Wickr uses Secure Shredder technology to overwrite deleted files with a random series of 0s and 1s. In most instances, this prevents deleted data from being recovered.
(To further protect against unauthorized recovery of deleted data, make sure that device storage is not automatically backed up before the shredding process occurs.)
Verify Your Trusted Contacts with Key Verification
Another way to securely share data is to ensure you’re sending it to the person you think you’re sending it to. Wickr does this via key verification, which adds an extra layer of security and protection by enabling you to verify the identity of your trusted contacts.
Key verification works by issuing a unique security verification code for each user. To verify the identity of any user in your contacts list, you compare security codes with the trusted contact. Just click that user’s avatar in the Wickr app to display that individual’s profile screen, and then click Security Verification. Your contact follows the same steps, and you can then compare security codes.
Share Data Internally and Externally
Wickr has millions of users around the world. Your team can set up specific rooms to collaborate with each other internally and, more importantly, your team can create rooms to collaborate with users outside of your organization. This ensures that your most critical business communications remain secure even when in the hands of third-parties. For an added layer of security, Administrators can control who users can talk to internally and externally (everyone is allowed by default). Slack, for example, restricts your communications to just your network. And collaborating with external parties via email means the data you share can remain on unsecure servers indefinitely.
Wickr-For Secure Data Sharing
Wickr offers end-to-end encrypted messaging solutions for companies of all sizes. Contact us to learn more about how Wickr can make your company’s data sharing more secure.
Originally published at https://wickr.com on December 12, 2019.