SharePoint External Sharing: Best Practices for Secure Collaboration

As organizations continue to expand their digital footprints, collaboration with external stakeholders has become an essential aspect of business operations. Microsoft SharePoint provides a robust platform for sharing information securely and efficiently with partners, vendors, customers, and other parties. However, sharing sensitive data requires careful planning and execution to ensure that confidentiality, integrity, and availability are maintained.

These SharePoint Apps to enhance security and governance of data within SharePoint.  Then read about best practices, features and tips.

To achieve secure collaboration in SharePoint, it is crucial to implement best practices and utilize its built-in features. Here are some essential guidelines for getting started:

1. Define clear sharing policies: Establish a set of rules governing external sharing activities within your organization. This includes determining which users can share content, what types of data can be shared, and the level of access that third-party collaborators will have.
2. Use SharePoint’s permission levels: Grant specific permissions to external users based on their roles or responsibilities. For instance, you might grant view-only access for partners reviewing proposals or edit rights for vendors updating project plans.
3. Configure file sharing settings: Customize SharePoint’s file sharing settings to control how documents are shared and accessed. This includes options for expiration dates, password-protected links, and permission levels for external collaborators.
4. Utilize SharePoint’s permissions inheritance: Take advantage of the feature that allows you to set permissions at a site level, which will automatically apply those same permissions to all sub-sites within that site. This streamlines the sharing process by eliminating the need to configure permissions individually for each sub-site.
5. Monitor and audit external sharing activities: Regularly review SharePoint’s audit logs to track user activity, including who shared what content with whom and when. This helps identify potential security breaches and informs data protection strategies.
6. Integrate with other Microsoft tools: Leverage the power of Microsoft’s suite of productivity applications by integrating SharePoint with services like OneDrive, Office 365, and Azure Active Directory (AAD). This enables seamless collaboration across different platforms and ensures that sensitive data remains secure.
7. Use SharePoint’s content types and templates: Create custom content types and templates to standardize document formats and ensure consistency in file organization. This simplifies the sharing process by reducing the need for manual formatting and categorization.
8. Configure notification settings: Set up notifications within SharePoint to alert internal users when external collaborators access or modify shared content. This keeps everyone informed of changes and helps maintain transparency throughout the collaboration process.
9. Use Microsoft’s Information Protection (IP) and Communication (IC): Implement IP and IC solutions to encrypt, sign, and seal sensitive information shared outside your organization’s boundaries. These features provide an additional layer of security for sensitive data.
10. Conduct regular security assessments: Perform periodic security audits to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in SharePoint’s external sharing configuration. This enables proactive measures to mitigate potential risks and ensures the long-term integrity of sensitive data.

By following these best practices and utilizing SharePoint’s built-in features, you can establish a robust framework for secure collaboration with external stakeholders. Remember that effective data protection requires ongoing monitoring and improvement, so be prepared to adapt your approach as needed to maintain the trust and confidence of your organization and its partners.

SharePoint External Sharing is a powerful feature that enables organizations to collaborate with external parties such as partners, customers, and vendors. However, sharing information externally requires careful consideration of security and controls to ensure sensitive data remains protected.

Before enabling external sharing in SharePoint, it’s essential to establish clear policies and guidelines for collaboration. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, setting boundaries on what can be shared, and determining the level of access control needed.

Here are some best practices to follow when implementing SharePoint External Sharing:

1. Start with a solid foundation: Ensure your organization has a robust information management framework in place before enabling external sharing. This includes policies, procedures, and training for employees on how to handle sensitive data.
2. Choose the right level of access: SharePoint offers different levels of access control for external parties, including co-authoring and view-only permissions. Determine what level of access is necessary based on the type of collaboration and sensitivity of the information being shared.
3. Use permission-based controls: SharePoint’s permission-based controls allow you to restrict access to specific sites, libraries, or lists. Use these controls to limit who can view or edit sensitive content.
4. Implement authentication and authorization: SharePoint integrates with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for single sign-on (SSO) and identity management. Ensure all external users are authenticated and authorized before granting access to sensitive information.
5. Monitor and audit sharing activities: SharePoint provides tools for monitoring and auditing sharing activities, including who accessed what content and when. Regularly review these logs to ensure that external sharing is being used responsibly.
6. Limit sharing to specific sites or libraries: Instead of enabling sharing at the site level, limit it to specific libraries or folders within a site. This helps contain sensitive information and reduces the risk of accidental sharing.
7. Use encryption and authentication protocols: SharePoint uses HTTPS (SSL/TLS) for secure data transfer and supports advanced authentication protocols like OAuth and SAML. Ensure that all external users are connected via a secure connection.
8. Establish clear communication channels: Clearly communicate with external parties on what information can be shared, how it will be handled, and the level of access they have. This helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that sensitive data remains protected.
9. Train employees on external sharing best practices: Educate employees on the risks and benefits of external sharing in SharePoint. Provide training on best practices for handling sensitive information and ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities in the collaboration process.
10. Continuously review and refine sharing policies: As your organization’s needs evolve, so should your external sharing policies. Regularly review and refine these policies to ensure they remain effective in protecting sensitive information.

Some of the key features to use within SharePoint for external sharing include:

• Site-level permissions: Control access to specific sites or libraries based on user roles or permissions.
• Library-level permissions: Restrict access to specific libraries or folders within a site.
• View-only and co-authoring permissions: Grant different levels of access control to external parties, including view-only and co-authoring permissions.
• Secure authentication: Use Azure AD for single sign-on (SSO) and identity management.
• Auditing and reporting tools: Monitor and audit sharing activities using SharePoint’s built-in logging and reporting tools.

By following these best practices and utilizing SharePoint’s features for external sharing, you can ensure secure collaboration while protecting sensitive information.