6Foot2 Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 I have been sent a document by the Head. The Head would like me to share this document with staff on our network, but there are caveats. For reasons that are too complex to go into here the shared document MUST: Be read only Not printable Be copy protected (user cannot save as when viewing, or right click and copy file as a whole) Have its contents protected (user cannot highlight sections of text and copy them to the clipboard, or other, for pasting into another document later) You get the idea: Users should be able to view it, but not take it away. I have no special software tools available to me just a standard vanilla educational network. Can it be done? I think not. 3
FishCustard Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) Take a screenshot of whatever it is, use that, that gets around the highlighting issue, but then people could just take a screenshot themselves or take a picture of the screen with their phones. If this document is so sensitive, do what the security services do and have it available to view in physical form in a specific location - people come, view it under supervision, then leave. Could have multiple supervisors with a copy (e.g. each member of SLT) to speed things up. (As an aside, what the hell requires this level of security in a school anyway?! Very intrigued!) Edited March 23, 2018 by FishCustard 1
elsiegee40 Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Impossible. Even if you printed it on paper and glued it to a wall all it would take is a photo... On documents... a screenshot or snipping tool. You cannot do it. 2
Katy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 The old "if you can see it with your eyes, you can copy it" comes into play. Impossible as even if you could prevent a screenshot, nothing to stop a photograph being taken of the screen. 1
Boredguy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Be read only is easy enough (PDF or permissions). The other 3 not really as you can always print screen the entire screen regardless of the restrictions on the document if someone really wanted a image version of it. 1
IrritableTech Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Technology is no replacement for policy. The instructions to all staff which have access to the document should be clear on what can and can't be done with it. Failure to comply will result in a management instruction being issued. If you don't trust your staff to follow those instructions don't share with them - and consider their suitability to their job. 1
6Foot2 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Posted March 23, 2018 As expected. I just wanted a quick sanity check. Thanks, everyone. Now I have to find some way of persuading him that what he wants cannot be done. He might accept another answer... 3
Ksavage413 Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Have you considered a stone tablet? All in all, sounds like a policy issue more than ICT. If it exists, it can be copied.
mjk Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 As expected. I just wanted a quick sanity check. Thanks, everyone. Now I have to find some way of persuading him that what he wants cannot be done. He might accept another answer... Illustrate it by buying him a cake and eating it. 4
atcoates Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 You can get this level of protection with Azure rights management. 1
Katy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 As expected. I just wanted a quick sanity check. Thanks, everyone. Now I have to find some way of persuading him that what he wants cannot be done. He might accept another answer... Whispering the contents to each staff member might work, as it'd be too quiet for them to record and there's nothing for them to screenshot or take a photo of.... would be hilarious if this actually happened
Katy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 You can get this level of protection with Azure rights management. How? No matter how well you protect it with Azure RM it won't stop me taking my phone out and getting a photo of it on screen. 1
pubgrub277 Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Could you not do something like banks do with viewing a pin online? Only one letter/number/word displayed at a time so no risk of a screenshot being taken or the whole document? of course multiple screenshots would get the whole document so maybe display each word in a random order too? then the reader just pieces it together in their mind but cant get a copy of the whole document to copy at once...... 2
atcoates Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 How? No matter how well you protect it with Azure RM it won't stop me taking my phone out and getting a photo of it on screen. I'm just referring to to the four points outlined in the OP.
Katy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 I'm just referring to to the four points outlined in the OP. Sorry, just went and re-read them and you're right, it can be done with Azure RM although it's easily circumvented with the "take a photo of it".
atcoates Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) "take a photo of it". Yes that method will always work but then at that point you'd be in a position of getting yourself sacked. Edited March 23, 2018 by atcoates 1
Norphy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 You'll never get around the whole "Take a picture of it" problem but you can protect PDF files in all of the ways the OP wants as well. Well, points 1, 2 and 4 anyway. As long as you have full blown Acrobat anyway.
6Foot2 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Posted March 23, 2018 Sorry, just went and re-read them and you're right, it can be done with Azure RM although it's easily circumvented with the "take a photo of it". Although I didn't mention this in my original post I suspect that he (the Head) would have said it if it had occurred to him.
fiza Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 I want to know what the document is that the Head is so scared of letting out into the open.
6Foot2 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Posted March 23, 2018 I want to know what the document is that the Head is so scared of letting out into the open. I can't tell you that. It's really not that exciting. If the time comes when I can let you all know, rest assured, I will.
elsiegee40 Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Could you not do something like banks do with viewing a pin online? Only one letter/number/word displayed at a time so no risk of a screenshot being taken or the whole document? of course multiple screenshots would get the whole document so maybe display each word in a random order too? then the reader just pieces it together in their mind but cant get a copy of the whole document to copy at once......
Rob_D Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Could you do something with IR LEDs to dassel cameras and stop photos that way? (I saw it on an episode of MacGyver. )
Katy Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Secure room with it on a small screen, no keyboard or mouse, one person at a time in via metal detector and body search? Plus some memory-loss-inducing drugs on the way out to stop them remembering it and telling anybody. 1
RobD Posted March 23, 2018 Posted March 23, 2018 Could you post it somewhere and block printing from a CSS?? I know it doesn't stop the repeated point of taking a photo but could be something? Or.......Print it off and make people read it in front of you.
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