Alternative to fax
Why the fax is still widely used,
what risks it entails and what alternatives there are.
The risks of fax use
As easy as faxing was for users, it was easy for numerical errors to creep in when typing the recipient's number; as a result, the confidential document went to the wrong addressee. Once the fax was gone, it could no longer be reversed. And even if the fax number entered was correct, who actually got to see the fax on the recipient's side ultimately depended on who was standing at the fax machine in question at the time. There was therefore no question of comprehensible confidentiality.
Even the more modern fax transmission methods do not offer effective data protection: when faxes are converted into emails, the sender can neither enforce nor find out that this is done in encrypted form. The transmission is therefore not GDPR-compliant. Thus, it is no wonder that in Germany, the Bremen State Data Protection Commissioner has denied the fax GDPR compliance (German article).
For enterprises, fax is therefore not a data protection-compliant means of transfer, at least since the GDPR has come into force; especially since a company's own business secrets and intellectual property are not transmitted by fax in a way that protects them from unauthorised third parties.
If you replace your fax with Cryptshare....
email encryption and secure transmission of large files is included
Where is the fax still in use?
In business the fax is playing an increasingly minor role, and for most companies its use has continued to decline in recent years.
Nevertheless, in Germany the fax is still an important pillar for communication in some industries. It is still used in the legal sector, by public authorities, and also in the health sector.
Replacing the insecure fax - driving digitization forward
Often, established but insecure work steps can be improved by minor technical measures. Our partner Konika Minolta integrates Cryptshare into MFP devices.
This allows users to securely send scanned documents directly to any email address at the touch of a button. Data protection is guaranteed - and accidental sending to the wrong recipient is prevented.
Send large and confidential documents directly from the MFP
Transfer large scans directly from the MFP to the recipient, saving valuable time. Confidential documents can also be transferred to the recipient tamper-proof and directly from the device.
What is a fax?
The word fax is an abbreviation for telefax (facsimile) and goes back to the term facsimile, which in turn stands for the faithful reproduction of an original. The fax machine allows a sender to digitally scan a written document and transmit it in real time over the telephone line to a receiving device. There it is usually printed out again.