Uploading files is a crucial function of a variety of services and applications. They’re a common feature in systems for managing content, healthcare portals, insurance sites and messaging apps. However allowing malicious actors to upload files without restriction could expose your customers’ information to security violations.
In order to ensure secure uploading and downloading, a system must be in place that checks uploaded files’ contents against a whitelist of approved types of files, and scans them for viruses. This is important if you are in charge of customer information or are required to comply with regulations such as HIPAA for EU citizens.
A good system for uploading files will also protect data while in transit and at rest. This ensures that data is not easily accessible to third parties and can save your company from costly lawsuits and fines for non-compliance.
You should also only store uploaded files on designated storage locations within your server, database, or cloud storage service, and provide a backlink to the file for the user. This reduces the chance that hackers can gain access to your server, and even steal valuable information from customers.