What Is File Protection?
File Protection applies primarily to the distribution of files to locations and recipients outside of an organization’s normal file-management system. Therefore, you will normally apply file protection to the copies of your DGN files that leave your control. File protection has the following components:
- Encryption
- Recipients
- Rights
- Expiry
Author and User Distinction
It is important to distinguish between the author, the person who protects a file and has unlimited rights, and users, the people who open and work with a protected file. File Protection assumes that any user who has physical read/write access to an unprotected file is authorized to protect it. In other words, the author is simply the person who first protects the file.
Levels of Security
Using File Protection, an author can protect his digital property at two levels by:
- excluding unauthorized persons
The author protects a file by encrypting it, then authorizing only specific digital certificates and/or passwords to access it. It is impossible for anyone to open a protected file without an authorized certificate or password.
- restricting usage rights to authorized persons
The author uses an authorized certificate or password to restrict usage by the user. Specifically, the author restricts the user's right to print, export, and/or modify the file or places a time limit on the user's right to access the file. The author may also specify an "authentication URL" to function as a dynamic check on a user's right to access the file.