What is a document vault?
A document vault is the secure store for documents that applicants upload, such as identity proofs and financial statements. Each file is scanned for malware on arrival and then encrypted under its own key. Access is restricted to the reviewers entitled to see it, and every retrieval is logged, so the organisation can show who handled each document.
Also called: Secure document store, Evidence vault
Why uploaded documents need stronger protection than the form itself
An application form records answers, while the documents attached to it often contain far more, including identity numbers, addresses, signatures and financial detail. They are also files supplied by outsiders, which makes them a common route for malicious content. A vault addresses both of those risks. Files are inspected before anything else touches them, and encryption under separate keys means that access to one file reveals nothing about any other.
- Uploaded documents often hold more personal data than the form itself.
- Files supplied by applicants are a known route for malicious content.
- Per-file keys limit the impact of any single compromised credential.
- Logged access shows exactly who viewed each document and when.
How a document vault works
- Uploaded files are held in quarantine until they pass malware scanning.
- Clean files are encrypted under a unique key for each file.
- File keys are protected by keys the organisation controls.
- Each file is linked to its application and its uploader.
- Reviewers receive time-limited access only to files they are entitled to see.
- Files are deleted on schedule according to the retention policy.
How a document vault is evaluated
A document vault is evaluated by testing its controls directly instead of trusting its configuration. Check the following on a regular basis:
- infected test files blocked before storage
- access attempts by unauthorised users refused and logged
- share of files encrypted under a unique key
- files retained beyond their scheduled deletion date
- completeness of the access log for a sample of files
Limitations, risks and common failure modes
- Files are processed by extraction tools before scanning completes.
- Reviewers download files and copies escape the vault's controls.
- Retention is never enforced and old documents accumulate indefinitely.
- Previews and thumbnails are stored without the protection of the original.