What is a DigitalVault?

A Digital Vault is like a safe deposit box, but instead of being in a physical bank, it's on the internet. You can think of it as a virtual storage space where you can keep your important personal files related to your estate, safe and secure.

Just as you need a key to access your safe deposit box in a bank, you need a password or other security measure to access your Digital Vault. This helps ensure that only you, or someone you trust, can access your files. The files in your Digital Vault are protected by strong encryption, which is like a sophisticated lock, making it difficult for others to break in and access your files without permission.

You can access your Digital Vault from different devices, like your computer, phone, or tablet, as long as you have an internet connection. This makes it easy to store, access, and manage your files securely from anywhere. It also helps protect your files in case your device is lost or damaged, since your files are safely stored in your Digital Vault and not just on your device.

How We Are More Secure

Bank branch analogy

A branch has security guards, a safe, protective screens for tellers, likely with a hidden alarm to protect their most important assets - the money and people inside the branch. This is where the majority of cyber investment is made - into improved security, monitoring, protection - and it's why we partnered with NPC DataGuard, to complement DigitalVault standout security features with NPC's superior hardware protection.

We also use NPC DataGuard on our office computers for an added level of security with you data.

However, the banks know that the branch's cash inventory has to be replenished and excess has to be moved off premises for safekeeping. Since road based transportation has multiple risk factors (accidents, ambush, break-down, etc.) - the banks use armoured trucks with armed guards to safeguard the money in transit reducing exposure significantly. It clearly works - because in 2021, the FBI reported only 2 armoured car robberies vs 1,546 commercial bank robberies¹. 

The bank's "cash-in-transit" is equal to a firm's "information-in-transit," and since there is a marketplace for private information where hackers can buy-and-sell, this risk exposure will continue to increase until firms deploy their own digital "armoured car" equivalent.

So if we continue with this analogy for the "information-in-transit" with a bank's cash handling...

What if banks just handed strangers cash to walk the money to the next branch? That's the equivalent of using file attachments over email. The person is unknown, they could be a thief themselves, they could dip into the money, or swap it with counterfeit bills, one would have no idea. The receiving branch wouldn't know if it's counterfeit, or how much was actually supposed to be there. In the digital world, email goes through multiple servers, is unprotected, and with minimal effort, a bad actor can access that information. 

What if banks used a taxi to deliver cash to the next branch? That's the equivalent of using file sharing links. Definitely better than a stranger because you know who's moving the money, but you can't fully control what happens inside - what if the taxi driver swaps the cash, what if they skim from the bag? While this is slightly better, it doesn't materially reduce the risks earlier. Equivalently, file sharing links can still be opened by any bad actor the same way an attachment can be opened. (One could argue they password protected the link - fine, how was the password shared?)

So what's protecting your information-in-transit?

Why DigitalVault is so different. Since we know the traditional email paths contain so many hazards, DigitalVault is the equivalent of the branch manager taking a helicopter straight to the Central Bank's secure vault, and exchanging cash there with other bank managers or their designates. By avoiding roads entirely, and dealing only with known persons, one eliminates the vast majority of the risks that exist in exchanging information. (In case you're wondering, helicopters have 7x fewer fatalities than cars!²)