In today's digital threat landscape, businesses suffer more severely due to the sophistication of multi-layered cyberattacks. Every company needs to remain vigilant and implement protective measures to prevent or lessen the damage associated with digital compromises. As countless organizations rely on collaboration tools, they don't always contain security features to counter data breaches, phishing, and other malicious activities that put a target on their back.

Why is security essential in online collaboration?

Tools for online collaboration drive the productivity of in-house and remote working teams. An increase in productivity results in an increase in profit for the business. Without safety protocols in place, it's only a matter of time before the financial health of an organization suffers due to the insecurity of the tools it utilizes, making security essential in online collaboration.

Secure collaboration tools save and protect organizations through encryption, access controls, and proper authentication. Some tools also adhere to the leading international standard for information security, guaranteeing robust, high-quality security measures are set in place. While many tools enable smooth collaboration, they also leave businesses vulnerable to external threats due to a lack of security features.

Outlined below are the top 5 secure collaboration tools in 2023:

1 SSH Secure Collaboration 2024

Overview

SSH Communications Security (SSH) is a cybersecurity company specializing in securing communications between people, applications, networks, and systems, including privileged access and credentials management.

This helps companies build a proactive defensive cybersecurity posture to reduce the risk of breaches and lets organizations grow in the digital world without constant worry about attacks and leaks.

SSH is trusted by over 5,000 customers worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, financial institutions, retailers, and top manufacturers.

With its newly launched Secure Collaboration 2024, the European Defensive Cybersecurity trailblazer remains committed to helping its customers secure their business communications and collaboration workflows.

Secure Collaboration 2024 is a modern, secure, and audited human-to-human communications and collaboration platform consisting of multiple modules that allow people to share sensitive, confidential, and secret information and data through different forms of communication inside and across organizational and country borders.

Besides controllable business communication, Secure Collaboration 2024 also offers enhanced oversight for ESG compliance. Organizations can build authorized channels for sharing and collaboration, especially among internal and external stakeholders, and gain visibility into various activities, such as who viewed, edited, or shared certain data. The solution fulfills the compliance requirements of the private as well as public sectors that require confidentiality, secrecy, or restriction of data.

Secure Collaboration 2024 helps organizations control their data and access to it by enabling deployment on-premises or in the cloud and by utilizing a variety of access controls, such as strong authentication methods, including MFA, SSO, etc. All accesses and activity are monitored and tracked for easy auditing.

Additionally, the solution is user-friendly and easy to use for internal as well as external end-users. For example, the recipient outside of the organization doesn't need to configure or install any components for the solution to work.

The secure collaboration tool of SSH is purpose-built to protect confidential information. The company ensures that data is always protected with robust encryption over the public cloud and never exposed to the server. With an enhanced user interface built on modern micro-serve-based container architecture, Secure Collaboration 2024 is an efficient resource management and cost-saving solution for secure communications and data sharing.

Features

Secure Mail

Secure Collaboration 2024 contains an easy-to-use and highly secure email encryption solution called Secure Mail. When embedded, it protects confidential email communications through its robust security. It supports various email security protocols (DMARC, DKIM, SPF).

It can encrypt emails or prevent them from being sent based on the company's policies. It seamlessly integrates with any email system without disrupting the user experience.

Due to its ease of use, Secure Collaboration 2024 requires no extensive training for users or additional end-user accounts. SSH SSH Secure Collaboration 2024 also offers flexible deployment, whether they are operating from the cloud or on-premises

Secure Messaging

Secure Collaboration 2024 includes an instant communications platform that allows you to build your own authorized channels and communicate in real-time. Its functionalities include the following:

• End-to-end Encrypted direct messages and group chats

• On-prem or cloud/self-hosted solutions

• Video and Voice Calls

• Communication Tools Compatibility (e.g., Teams, Slack, etc.)

The solution allows you to invite and connect with third-party organizations, regardless of the communication tool(s) they use, to keep your sensitive data secure when communicating externally. It enables organizations and their customers to converse with confidence over the open internet without information leaks, identify all parties, and get a solid audit trail of activities.

Secure Rooms

SSH also offers a secure workspace solution known as Secure Rooms where users can store and share information in confidence to an internal team or a third-party interest group. Each room is protected with robust end-to-end encryption and can accommodate large documents without file size limits. Admins can specify access controls and authentication options (MFA, 2FA, or Active Directory integration) for each room to monitor and limit user activity.

SSH's Secure Rooms require no plugins or agents. Users can utilize the secure workspace solution and access confidential files, comment on them, and share data via a browser-based interface that works on any device. They can also create documents and polls, assign tasks, or arrange meetings with external parties. This secure collaboration tool is also deployable on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment.

Secure Forms

Secure Collaboration 2024 also features Secure Forms that enable users to create, customize, and manage e-forms with ease. Users are protected from any misuse with robust encryption. They can also require authentication via identity solutions or limit access due to roles or IP for additional security.

Since Secure Forms are customizable, users can control the level of detail shown to other parties based on given answers or integrations to the backend. Users can also send a form directly through an encrypted email (Secure Mail) or deliver it to a digital storage created in the Secure Rooms.

Secure Sign

SSH offers Secure Sign, a solution that allows users to electronically sign documents. The solution also protects digital signatures with robust encryption. With flexible configuration options, users can apply various authentication options and customize the Secure Sign portal for the respective signee, so it only displays features the other party is allowed to see.

Users can sign images, office documents, and even source code files. They can also sign multiple documents in one signing process to reduce the time spent attaching electronic signatures for faster operations. With just a few clicks, anyone can sign documents electronically and securely, no registration or end-user account is required from the signee.

SSH goes above and beyond to provide secure collaboration tools so organizations can act in confidence, knowing the solutions they have adopted keep them safe from risks. The company has over 20 years of experience in developing and building cybersecurity solutions that are future-proof and robust in quality. With various authentication methods and compliance with existing data privacy laws and regulations, Secure Collaboration 2024 ensures protection from unauthorized users and strictly upholds data privacy.

2 Rocket.Chat

Overview

Rocket.Chat is a secure and compliant communication platform where teams can collaborate, deliver great customer experiences, and drive higher app user engagement. It centralizes all custom apps, open APIs, plugins, and webhooks into one secure workspace. Users can choose between self-hosted, air-gapped, or cloud deployment options to match their security and compliance needs. Used in 150 countries, it is purpose-built for organizations that handle sensitive business or customer data.

Features

Rocket.Chat complies with the international standard for information security management systems. It gets audited on an annual basis to verify the design and operational effectiveness of its management system, proving its credibility in managing third-party information and intellectual property and ensuring protection from exposure to risks.

With end-to-end encryption, Rocket.Chat keeps all conversations private and exclusive to authorized users. It guarantees data loss prevention as it automatically triages sensitive data fields, like credit card numbers, through an approval process. The communication platform also features a message audit panel where every conversation can be audited and exported to reduce the risk of insider threats.

Rocket.Chat also offers ID-only push notifications to prevent third-party services from reading private messages. With built-in device management, users can uncover potential threats by monitoring the login activity and terminating suspicious sessions. To reduce the risk of security breaches, it requires two-factor authentication, making it harder for threat actors to gain access to sensitive information.

While most of the secure collaboration features are exclusive to its Enterprise edition, Rocket.Chat has set the bar high as a secure messaging platform with certifications from GDPR, HIPAA, FINRA, FedRAMP, and more. It is also scalable and customizable, making it a top choice for more than 12 million users worldwide.

3 Pexip

Overview

Certified by the strictest security standards, Pexip is a powerful, customizable, and secure video platform trusted by international governments, defense departments, and military organizations, even healthcare providers to handle classified information. It is a secure collaboration solution that lets businesses take full control of their data.

In collaboration with Rocket.Chat, Pexip guarantees security and data privacy in every conversation. It unifies all chat messages, video conferencing, and projects while maintaining the confidentiality of mission-critical communications.

Features

Pexip enables secure collaboration across systems, platforms, and external partners. It offers integration with popular tools organizations use, such as Zoom, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Gmail. It also interoperates with Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

For organizations that need data sovereignty or data legislation, Pexip offers air-gapped on-premise and private cloud deployment options. Users can choose among public, private, or government-approved cloud of their choice from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, or Pexip's cloud services.

Pexip also features restrictions to limit access based on role, location, network, or PIN. Admins can set different access levels based on security clearance or rank. All these are automatically set through its built-in policy engine that restricts users based on custom criteria. It also contains additional security features such as SSO, SAML 2.0, and OpenID Connect to ensure that only authorized and identified users can enter a video meeting.

Providing high-quality video and audio meetings at a lower cost, Pexip specializes in secure collaboration through visual communication sessions. It protects classified meets and provides compliance with laws and regulations, allowing organizations to have full control of meeting data in transit and at rest.

4 Pumble

Overview

Secure and compliant, Pumble is an all-in-one team collaboration app used by over 151 thousand teams. It contains features for real-time communication, workspace administration, and meetings to achieve secure collaboration in one platform. Available on multiple platforms, it is a free, reliable remote access solution that streamlines team communication.

Features

Pumble adheres to the framework and guidelines for information security management systems, having received certifications for IS0 27001 and SOC 2. It also encrypts all data at rest and in transit to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to sensitive or confidential information.

The team collaboration app can also store all messages forever, making it a reliable and accessible knowledge base while also ensuring it's easier for teams to find the information they need at their fingertips. Users can search team conversation history and filter them to narrow the search.

Pumble also enables file sharing. Users can also send documents to anyone outside of the secure workspace. With Guest access, people outside of the organization can join the dedicated workspaces (single-channel guests or multi-channel guests) with limited visibility. Admins can set time expiration dates that deactivate the guest account automatically or modify the said account for indefinite access.

The team collaboration app also contains roles that expand or limit the actions of a member in the secure workspace; hence, not everyone has the same level of permission for messaging, invitations, channels, and groups. This feature also extends to message editing and deleting, making it easier to audit or monitor activity.

With custom notifications and message formatting, teams can quickly identify important information for faster delivery of tasks or projects, increasing productivity. Pumble offers secure collaboration tools for different industries. With cross-platform support, it facilitates seamless communication and efficient collaboration, suitable for companies that have embraced a hybrid workforce.

5 Nextcloud

Overview

Nextcloud is a content collaboration platform that enables real-time document editing, video chat, and groupware on mobile, desktop, and web. It features a host of advanced security technologies from brute force protection, and advanced server side to end-to-end encryption. It upholds data privacy as it ensures its security is reviewed by trusted third parties and backed by a USD 10.000 Security Bug Bounty Program.

Features

Nextcloud contains built-in secure collaboration tools to protect user data from leaking onto the web and other forms of cyber threats. It uses industry-standard SSL/TLS encryption for safe data transmissions. For data at rest, it uses the default military-grade AES-256 encryption, making it harder for unauthorized people to access confidential or sensitive information.

It also features powerful workflow tools that enable admins to limit permissions according to business and legal requirements, restricting actions such as file conversions. Admins can also define rules for data retention, signals for regular cleanup, or ensure that data remains available for a set amount of time.

The content collaboration platform also automates tedious and repetitive tasks to streamline workflows. With integration into existing storage solutions, including event logging and backup tools, Netcloud puts organizations back in control. Data is stored securely in a data center on a server managed by the company instead of third-party service providers.

Conclusion

As many organizations shift to hybrid workforces, secure collaboration tools have become an important asset. Without them, teams cannot operate in full confidence in fear of being tracked by cybercriminals, resulting in data breaches that can affect the financial health of the company. Each of these tools provides a high level of safety and security, so collaboration among teams can occur smoothly without worrying about threats that endanger the business.