Control File Sharing
How can you control who can open a sensitive file after it is shared?
TeraCryption allows the owner of a protected file to control which other members of the Group to which the owner is assigned are permitted to decrypt the file. The file owner can share the protected file only with authorized users who are members of that same Group.
Sharing a file does not automatically give every member of the Group permission to open it. The file remains encrypted, and only the Group members selected by the file owner can decrypt and access its contents. The owner can later change those sharing permissions when access is no longer required.
This allows sensitive business information to be shared within an authorized Group while maintaining file-level control over exactly who is permitted to open it.
How can you control who can open a sensitive file after it is shared?
TeraCryption allows the owner of a protected file to control which other members of the Group to which the owner is assigned are permitted to decrypt the file. The file owner can share the protected file only with authorized users who are members of that same Group.
Sharing a file does not automatically give every member of the Group permission to open it. The file remains encrypted, and only the Group members selected by the file owner can decrypt and access its contents. The owner can later change those sharing permissions when access is no longer required.
This allows sensitive business information to be shared within an authorized Group while maintaining file-level control over exactly who is permitted to open it.
Administration determines Group membership → File owner determines sharing within that Group.
How can an organization review who its protected files are currently shared with?
TeraCryption provides administrators with visibility into how protected files are being shared within authorized Groups. Administrators can review a table showing protected files and the users with whom each file is shared.
The information can be filtered by file owner and exported, allowing Administration to provide individual file owners with a list of their protected files and current sharing permissions for review.
This creates a practical way to periodically identify access that may no longer be necessary. The file owner can then review the information and change the sharing permissions for files under their control.
Administration can review file-sharing relationships → File owners can correct sharing that is no longer required.
Can a file owner change who is allowed to open a protected file after it has already been shared?
Yes. TeraCryption allows the file owner to change the sharing permissions of a protected file when business requirements change.
The owner can review the authorized members of the Group with whom the file is currently shared and remove access for users who no longer need the information, or grant access to other authorized members of that same Group when required.
The protected file remains encrypted during these changes. There is no need to decrypt the file, create another copy or redistribute it with new encryption keys simply because the people who need access have changed.
This allows sharing permissions to follow current business requirements rather than remaining permanently based on an earlier sharing decision.
Business requirements change → File owners can change who is authorized to decrypt their protected files.
Can someone open a protected file simply because another user sends or copies the file to them?
No. Possession of a TeraCryption-protected file does not by itself provide permission to decrypt it.
A protected file remains encrypted when it is copied or otherwise provided to another person. To open it, the recipient must be an authorized user and must have permission to decrypt that particular file within the applicable Group.
This means that copying or forwarding the encrypted file does not automatically extend the file owner's sharing permissions to another person. A user who has not been authorized to decrypt the file cannot gain access to its contents simply by obtaining a copy.
Possession of a protected file does not equal permission to read it → Authorization determines who can decrypt its contents.
How can an organization reduce unnecessary access to sensitive files without preventing users from sharing them?
TeraCryption allows organizations to provide employees with access to the Groups they need for their work while limiting sensitive files within those Groups to the specific users who need to open them.
Administration establishes which users belong to each Group. Within that authorized environment, file owners can share individual protected files with selected members of their Group rather than automatically making every file available to everyone.
As responsibilities and business requirements change, Administration can review existing file-sharing relationships and file owners can remove permissions that are no longer necessary.
This allows employees to continue working together within their authorized Groups while applying more restrictive access to sensitive information when required.
Sharing does not require access to every file → Sensitive information can remain limited to the Group members who need it.
Do users need to create, store or exchange encryption keys when sharing protected files?
No. TeraCryption manages the encryption process automatically, so users do not need to create, store or exchange encryption keys when sharing protected files.
The file owner selects the authorized members of their Group who are permitted to access the file. TeraCryption handles the encryption and the authorization required for those selected users to decrypt it.
When the owner later changes the sharing permissions, users do not have to distribute new encryption keys or manually manage cryptographic information. The sharing decision remains part of the TeraCryption-controlled environment.
This allows users to concentrate on who should have access to the information, while TeraCryption handles the encryption process required to protect it.
Users decide who should have access → TeraCryption automatically handles the encryption required to protect the file.
Who controls who a protected file is shared with?
With TeraCryption, Administration controls who is authorized to belong to a Group, while the file owner controls which members of that Group are permitted to access an individual protected file.
This separates two important responsibilities. Administration establishes the authorized organizational environment by creating Groups and controlling their membership. The file owner then makes the business decision about which authorized members of their Group need access to a particular file.
Because the sharing decision remains with the file owner, the person responsible for the information can change those permissions as business requirements change. Administration can also review file-sharing relationships to help identify access that may no longer be required.
This provides organizational oversight without requiring Administration to make every individual file-sharing decision.
Administration controls who may belong to the Group → File owners control who within that Group may access their protected files.
Do you know who can currently open every sensitive file your organization has shared—and whether they still need access?
conditions change. Employees change responsibilities, projects end, departments are reorganized, and information that once needed to be shared may no longer require the same access.
The security question is therefore not only whether access was appropriate when the file was shared. It is whether that access is still appropriate today.
TeraCryption allows Administration to review protected files and see the users with whom individual files are currently shared. The information can be filtered by file owner and exported so that owners can review their sharing decisions and remove access that is no longer required.
The files remain encrypted, and necessary sharing can continue. The objective is not to prevent users from sharing information—it is to help the organization ensure that access to sensitive information continues to reflect current business requirements.
The question is not only who needed access when the file was shared → The question is who still needs access today.
Why Now?
Because unnecessary access can exist today without anyone having done anything wrong.