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Why would an organization not accept a JPEG file uploaded from Dropbox?

As part of onboarding for a particular organization I had to upload an image of a particular document. Having taken the picture on my phone I uploaded it to Dropbox so that I could then easily upload it from the browser on my laptop where I was accessing the onboarding application. However, I got a message back that the email failed "due to security restrictions" (unspecified). I presume I'll hear back from the organization in due course regarding this.

In the meantime, is it possible/likely that the issue here relates to Dropbox as the source for the upload, and if so, what could be the security risk that is perceived here?

As far as I'm concerned, Dropbox is just another Windows folder on my laptop, but one which has the convenience that I can access it from anywhere. I frequently upload files from Dropbox to various destinations but this is the first time I've had a problem doing so (assuming that is actually the problem). I'm not aware of any risks that could be incurred in having a picture uploaded from Dropbox but if anyone can provide further information that might explain what has happened I'd be most grateful.

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Rich

gerry_51 wrote:
But it's not actually on my computer, it's out there in the Dropbox cloud, right? (It just appears to be on my computer ...

No, not exactly.

First and foremost, the Dropbox folder on your computer is a regular folder like any other, and anything in the folder takes up space on your local drive. It is not a cloud-based folder that only exists online. It's just a regular folder.

Now there are features available to make it so some of your files don't actually exist locally. Selective Sync can be used to remove entire folders from your local drive, but then you could only see and use them through the Dropbox website. Then there's the ability to mark a file or folder as Online-only. This is where a file appears on your computer but doesn't take up space, and only exists in the cloud. However, if you interact with the file in any way, whether it's to open it for viewing/editing, or even to upload it to another site, the file has to be downloaded back to your local drive by Dropbox before you're able to interact with it.

So, even if you marked a file as Online-only, Dropbox would have to download it back to your local drive before you could upload it to another website, and that website would have no idea that Dropbox was involved at all. To your browser, you're just grabbing a file from your local drive and uploading it.

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gerry_51

CORRECTION: the upload failed (not the email)

Walter

Hi @gerry_51 - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you clear your browser's cache and/or try another browser, preferably with no extensions or plugins running and let me know if you get the same results?

If you do, I'd appreciate a screenshot too.

Thanks!

gerry_51

I can’t do that right now but I’m wondering if you understood my problem. I’m certain the problem is NOT caused by Dropbox. I just thought someone might know why an organization might refuse to accept an upload from Dropbox on “security” grounds — that’s all.

Rich

gerry_51 wrote:
As far as I'm concerned, Dropbox is just another Windows folder on my laptop ... why an organization might refuse to accept an upload from Dropbox

If you're just uploading a file from a folder on your computer, then the receiver would have no idea that the file was in your Dropbox. It's just a folder like any other. I seriously doubt Dropbox has anything to do with the problem.

gerry_51

But it's not actually on my computer, it's out there in the Dropbox cloud, right? (It just appears to be on my computer, which is what makes it really convenient for me as a user.) Anyway, I imagine I'll hear back as to precisely what the perceived security risk is.

Rich

gerry_51 wrote:
But it's not actually on my computer, it's out there in the Dropbox cloud, right? (It just appears to be on my computer ...

No, not exactly.

Mark

gerry_51 wrote:
However, I got a message back that the email failed "due to security restrictions" (unspecified). I presume I'll hear back from the organization in due course regarding this.

Depending upon how the upload system works its possible that they have set a limitation to what the files are. For example it may be limited to .PDF only.

There have been cases where upload forms are used to submit random pornography etc. and so the employer could be trying to protect people.

JPEG's can also have viruses and malware in them, so, it may just be a security setting to reduce risk.

gerry_51

Thanks for the explanation. It's online only, so I got that part of it right, but I didn't realize that the upload would be preceded by a download. Thanks again.

gerry_51

They accept PDFs and JPEGs and various other file types. Presumably they scan any files they receive.

I'm really curious to know what they think the "security risk" is. They'll let me know, I guess. Anyway, as per information from Rich I know it can't have anything to do with Dropbox so I won't bother you folks further on this.