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Regulatory compliance
FERPA compliance
FERPA compliance for fax means protecting student education records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — encrypting records in transit and at rest, and eliminating the physical exposure of an unsecured hardware fax machine that anyone in the room can read. WestFax replaces that hardware with an encrypted cloud fax platform, keeping student data on the right side of the law.
The mandate
What FERPA is — and why it matters
FERPA gives parents and guardians the right to access their children’s education records, to seek corrections, and to control the disclosure of personally identifiable information from those records. Schools and institutions that handle these records are responsible for keeping them private.
Traditional hardware fax machines are inherently insecure. Physical access is the key constraint: keeping documents confidential and correctly routed relies on someone standing at the machine, reading the document, and hand-delivering it. Moving off hardware-based faxing is the first step in securing your fax architecture — and staying compliant with FERPA.
Encryption end to end
How WestFax helps you comply
Transmitting or receiving PII by fax requires encryption from origin to transmittal and while the data is at rest. We store faxes in the cloud encrypted with AES-256, and require TLS 1.2+ protocols point to point so data is encrypted through its entire document lifecycle.
How your data stays protected
WestFax security details
One platform, one set of controls — under every framework we support.
Transmission security
The highest level of TLS available for data in transit — web, print driver, and API — plus TLS-protected SMTP (RFC 3207) and FTPS/SFTP.
Encryption at rest
AES-256 encryption of data at every phase of processing, guarded by Access Control Lists.
Physical security
SOC 2-compliant data centers with 24×7 guards, video surveillance, and biometric control of private-cloud areas.
Access control
Data isolated to a private-cloud environment, with unique user IDs, enforced password complexity, and multi-factor authentication.
Data integrity
End-to-end encryption and signature protocols prevent tampering in transit; every message is archived encrypted.
Audit & monitoring
Internal and external access logs reviewed in real time to detect and prevent security issues.
Faxing for education.
WestFax has been a secure cloud fax provider since 1999. Reach out to learn more about our offerings for schools and institutions.