The Risks Hiding in Your File Sharing Habits
File sharing often feels routine—but the way your team saves, shares, and stores documents can quietly build risk over time. It’s not about a single breach or failure. It’s about everyday habits that go unchecked: broad permissions, inconsistent storage, and overlapping tools that no one fully owns.
There are four main categories of file sharing risk: security, storage, access, and complexity. We highlight what to watch for and what to do about each below.
TL;DR
Most file sharing tools work fine—it’s the habits around them that create risk. When businesses don’t review who has access, where files are saved, or how tools are used, problems build up quietly.
Key takeaways:
– Review folder access regularly. Don’t assume it’s still right.
– Use structure: shared locations, naming conventions, and managed storage.
– Make sure people can access what they need from anywhere—without sharing everything with everyone.
– Simplify your tools and workflows so teams aren’t duplicating effort.
You don’t need a major overhaul. Just a better handle on the way files move through your business.
1. Security Risks: Too Much Access, Not Enough Control
Even if you’re using SharePoint, Teams, or OneDrive, there are still blind spots. The biggest risk isn’t always a cyberattack— sometimes it’s accidental overexposure.
We often see cases where:
- Entire folders are open to everyone in the company—even when they include HR or finance data
- Permissions aren’t reviewed, so access accumulates over time
- Link-based sharing never expires and continues to work long after it’s needed
It’s not always intentional. But when the wrong person can see the wrong file, it’s a risk.
How to reduce this risk:
- Review access for key folders (Finance, HR, Legal)
- Remove or limit use of “Everyone” and generic access groups
- Use data loss prevention (DLP) tools to control what users can do with sensitive files once they have access (e.g., restrict downloads, prevent forwarding, or block copying)
- Use permission expiration dates or time-bound access where possible
- Regularly audit shared links and disable unused ones
2. Storage Inconsistency: Files Saved in the Wrong Places
Not every risk is about too much access—sometimes it’s about the lack of structure. When people save files to personal drives, desktops, or one-off folders, it creates confusion and reduces visibility.
Some common signs:
- Files stored outside company-managed systems (e.g., on laptops or email threads)
- No naming conventions or folder structure
- Final versions scattered across multiple tools or locations
This leads to duplicate work, versioning problems, and lost time hunting for the right file.
How to fix it:
- Define where different types of documents should live (e.g., SharePoint libraries for team files)
- Create and share a standard folder structure and file naming approach
- Move files off personal drives and into shared platforms with version control
Planning on using AI tools like Copilot to be more efficient? How your files are organized will have a big impact on how well it works. Read More: Will Microsoft Copilot Work for Your Business? Only If Your Files Are Ready
3. Access Friction: People Can’t Get What They Need
Access friction shows up in two ways. Sometimes access is too locked down or unclear, so people waste time requesting what they need. Other times, files are stored in places that are hard to reach—like desktops or personal drives—especially when working remotely.
When files aren’t saved in a centralized platform like SharePoint, they’re effectively invisible to the rest of the team. Even AI tools like Microsoft Copilot can’t find what they can’t reach. When the rules are unclear or access is too locked down, it creates friction.
This shows up as:
- Repeated access requests to IT or team leads
- People working from outdated or duplicated files
- Time wasted waiting for the right folder or version to be shared
It’s not just inefficient—it can create risk when people try to work around the system to get their job done.
How to address this:
- Define clear role-based access levels and review them regularly
- Grant access based on team function, not just individual requests
- Make sure new employees are onboarded into the right access groups from day one
4. IT Complexity: Too Many Tools, Not Enough Structure
Most businesses didn’t plan their file sharing environment—it just grew. As a result, you may have multiple tools doing similar things, with no clear system tying them together.
This makes it harder to:
- Know where the “official” version of a document lives
- Understand how files are organized across platforms
- Onboard new staff into a consistent workflow
How to simplify your environment:
- Decide which tools are used for what (e.g., SharePoint for storage, Teams for collaboration). This blog breaks down when to use SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, or Google Drive.
- Limit tool overlap and sunset platforms no longer needed
- Consolidate files into shared systems with standard access and structure
If your file system has grown messy—or feels harder to manage than it should—there’s a better way. We work directly with your team to reduce file sprawl, tighten access, and get your tools working together. It’s part of what we do through Horizon’s TotalCare managed IT support.
Contact us to find out where to start.
