In early 2025, major UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Harrods, were targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks that began with a single phishing email. These incidents underscore a critical reality: security breaches often start not with a system vulnerability, but with a simple document, spreadsheet, or email.
At Greatstone International, we help organisations turn document workflows into proactive lines of defence. With over 20 years of experience and a curated portfolio of developer tools and SDKs, we enable IT teams and developers to build secure, automated systems that prevent phishing, protect sensitive data, and enforce compliance policies without compromising usability.
Why Secure Document Workflows Matter
A secure document workflow is more than encryption or antivirus software. It's a set of embedded, automated controls that:
- Protect files from unauthorised access
- Detect and remove sensitive content before it's shared
- Prevent phishing, leaks, and insider misuse
- Enforce sharing, editing, and storage policies through code
Secure Email and File Exchange
Email remains one of the most common entry points for cyberattacks. At Greatstone, we offer robust components that scan, validate, and control email content and attachments, ensuring threats are detected and blocked before files ever enter or leave your systems.
Key components:
- Aspose.Email
- Aspose.Words
- Aspose.Cells
- Aspose.Pdf
- GroupDocs.Signature
With these, you can automatically:
- Flag or block attachments with sensitive keywords
- Intercept unauthorised file types or metadata
- Enforce digital signatures before distribution
- Trigger approval flows for outbound documents
Automated Redaction and Content Scrubbing
Manual redaction is slow, error-prone, and a compliance liability. Our SDKs enable content-aware automation that eliminates risks before files are shared or archived.
Key components:
- GroupDocs.Redaction
- GroupDocs.Comparison
- GroupDocs.Annotation
These components allow developers to implement automatic redaction based on content classification rules, ensuring that names, contact details, account numbers or proprietary data are removed or masked before a file is shared or archived.
GroupDocs.Comparison adds an extra layer of control by highlighting differences between document versions, reducing the risk of malicious tampering or accidental release of drafts.
GroupDocs.Annotation, meanwhile, ensures that internal feedback or private commentary is restricted to authorised users and not included in final versions. Together, these tools reduce exposure by addressing both content and context risks.
Locking Down PDFs with Permanent Security
PDFs are a cornerstone of business documentation, but are often sent unprotected. We help lock them down.
Key components:
- Investintech Able2Extract Professional
- IRIS Readiris™ PDF 23
These tools offer advanced security features such as permanent redaction, password protection and digital rights management.
Able2Extract Professional provides developers and IT admins with fine-grained control over how PDFs are created, converted and shared. Readiris PDF 23 enables businesses to generate searchable, compliant PDF documents with access restrictions, making it far more difficult for attackers to extract usable data from compromised documents.
These features are particularly valuable in industries where data protection regulations (such as GDPR or HIPAA) require strong access controls and auditability.
Enforcing Document Policies Through Code
Rather than relying on external tools or manual processes, our Iron Software libraries empower developers to embed granular policy enforcement directly into your application's document workflows at the code level.
Key components:
- Iron Word
- Iron PDF
- IronXL
These libraries empower developers to embed policy enforcement directly within application-level document workflows. Organisations can define and enforce granular rules, such as preventing documents from being saved, exported, or printed unless specific conditions are met.
For instance, an internal reporting system might block the export of spreadsheets containing payroll data unless the user has elevated access rights. Similarly, a custom content management system (CMS) could restrict the download of Word documents if they include sensitive information such as contract values or legal clauses.
This level of control allows developers to align document handling with internal governance frameworks, ensuring compliance is enforced programmatically and consistently.
Modular Tools for Tailored Security
Every organisation operates with its own unique set of processes, compliance requirements, existing IT infrastructure, and specific risk profiles. A "one-size-fits-all" security solution, while seemingly convenient, often falls short. It can be overly rigid, forcing your teams to adapt to the software rather than the other way around. This often leads to:
- Security Gaps: Generic solutions might not address your industry's specific regulations or the unique ways your data flows.
- Operational Inefficiencies: Forcing square pegs into round holes can slow down workflows, frustrate employees, and undermine productivity.
- Unnecessary Costs: You end up paying for features you don't need, or worse, needing custom workarounds that are costly and complex to maintain.
Greatstone International’s software portfolio is designed with flexibility in mind. Whether you’re building internal systems, customer-facing portals or public sector solutions, these components allow you to tailor security to your specific needs.
With features like automated document classification, role-based access controls, secure sharing workflows and audit-ready reporting, our tools enable proactive threat mitigation without compromising usability or performance.
Final Thoughts: Secure Workflows Are Smart Workflows
Mitigating phishing and insider threats isn’t just about detection - it’s about prevention through control. By embedding content-aware security directly into the systems your teams use every day, you reduce the margin for error and protect your data before incidents occur.
At Greatstone International, we don’t just provide software, we help you make the right decisions from the start. With over two decades of experience, we partner with you to audit your current processes, design secure automation strategies, and support your developers from integration through deployment.
- Expert guidance
- Proven components
- Developer-first support
- Practical, scalable solutions
Secure your document workflows today.
Explore our full suite of tools and consultancy services: www.greatstonesoftware.co.uk/all-products