Are online faxing services safe?

Team Interfax

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen exponential growth in cloud-based services across a variety of industries worldwide. Just because these services are becoming more common, that doesn’t mean everyone understands the details. You may find yourself wondering: How do online fax services work? How secure is online faxing? Is cloud faxing safe? Are online fax services HIPAA-compliant? Are online fax services as secure as email?

Good news! You’ve come to the right place. Now, let’s dig in.

How Does Online Faxing Work?

It’s pretty simple—online faxing allows users to securely send/receive documents through the cloud, which uses modern data encryption, including TLS and AES, as every good cloud-service should. Once encrypted, these files can be sent/received through the InterFAX dashboard or via email from any device connected to the internet.

Let’s say you need to fax a form containing sensitive information such as personal health information and you *really* want to be sure your client’s confidential data doesn’t accidentally land in the wrong hands. By logging into InterFAX’s secure web portal and uploading this document into the cloud, your document is encrypted and changed into an electronic format that can be securely sent to a fax number or email address, then decoded and delivered to the intended recipient.

The entire process takes seconds, eliminating the need to print documents or wait by a machine.

And what’s even better is that you don’t have to own or maintain a physical fax machine or special software. It really is as simple as sending an email.

Is Online Faxing Safe?

Yes. In most business environments, cloud faxing is significantly more secure than relying on traditional fax machines.

With a physical fax machine, documents can sit unattended on a printer, be picked up by the wrong person, or become lost among other paperwork. Online faxing eliminates many of these risks by delivering documents directly to authorized recipients through secure digital channels.

With InterFAX, incoming faxes are delivered to a secure inbox, email account, application, or workflow. Outbound faxes can be sent directly to specific recipients or distribution groups, helping ensure that sensitive information only reaches authorized users.

Additional Security Benefits Include:

Encrypted transmission of fax data
Password-protected user access
Secure web portal and API access
Delivery confirmations and audit trails
Automated notifications for incoming faxes
Reduced risk of misplaced or abandoned documents
Role-based access controls for authorized users

As cyber threats continue to increase, organizations need secure methods for exchanging sensitive information. More than 700 large healthcare data breaches are reported annually, and email remains one of the most common attack vectors for healthcare organizations.

Online faxing provides a secure, reliable alternative for transmitting confidential documents while maintaining visibility and control over every transaction.

Are Cloud Fax Services HIPAA Compliant?

Not all cloud fax providers are HIPAA compliant. Healthcare organizations should carefully evaluate any fax service before transmitting Protected Health Information (PHI). Upland InterFAX is designed to support HIPAA compliance requirements through security, privacy, and auditing capabilities that help organizations protect sensitive patient data.

Key capabilities include:

Encryption during transmission
Secure document storage options
Detailed audit trails and reporting
User authentication and access controls
Business Associate Agreement (BAA) availability
Regional data residency options
Automated record retention capabilities

Unlike paper-based faxing, cloud faxing creates a complete digital record of every transmission. Organizations can quickly verify when documents were sent, delivered, and received without relying on paper logs or physical filing systems.

Benefits for healthcare organizations include:

Improved protection of patient information
Easier compliance reporting
Faster document retrieval
Reduced paper storage requirements
Greater visibility into fax activity
Better support for hybrid and remote work environments

How Secure Is Online Faxing Compared to Email?

Both email and cloud fax can be secure when properly configured. However, email remains one of the most frequently targeted channels for phishing, credential theft, and other cyberattacks. Healthcare security research found that email-related breaches continue to affect millions of patient records each year, with compromised email accounts and phishing attacks remaining major causes of data exposure.

Cloud faxing offers several advantages for transmitting sensitive documents:

Point-to-point document delivery
Encrypted transmission
Detailed delivery confirmation
Comprehensive audit trails
Reduced exposure to phishing attacks
Easier tracking and compliance reporting

Email is often used for everyday communication. For documents containing sensitive business, financial, or healthcare information, online faxing provides an additional layer of security, accountability, and traceability.