Setting up security policies for PDFs

If you often apply the same security settings to multiple PDFs, you can save your settings as a policy that you can reuse. Security policies save time while ensuring a consistently secure workflow. Creating policies for password and certificate security lets you reuse the same security settings for any number of PDFs. Two kinds of security policies are available:

• Organizational policies are especially useful if you want others to have access to PDFs for a limited time. Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) policies are stored on a server. Users must have access to the server to use these policies. Creating these policies requires specifying the document recipients from a list on Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security). Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) controls access to PDFs and auditing events as defined by the security policy. You can use Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) if your company has licensed the software and made it available to you.

• User policies are created and applied by individuals. If you apply the same security settings to numerous documents, you can save time by creating a user policy. Then, apply the user policy to documents. User policies for passwords and public key certificates are stored on your local computer. With access to Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security), you can create a user policy that’s stored on the Forms Server. That policy is available only to you.

How organizational policies are authenticated

In addition to reusing security settings, policies stored on Adobe Experience Manager Forms Server (Document Security) enable you to expire and revoke documents. You can also maintain accountability by auditing users who open protected documents.

Setting up server-based security policies involves four main stages:

The system administrator of your company or group usually configures Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security), manages accounts, and sets up organizational policies. For more information on configuring Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security), see the Adobe website.

An author creates a PDF and applies a policy stored on Adobe Experience Manager Forms Server to the PDF. The server generates a license and unique encryption key for the PDF. Acrobat embeds the license in the PDF and encrypts it using the encryption key. The author or administrator can use this license to track and audit the PDF.

When users try to open the secure PDF in Acrobat, they must authenticate their identities. If the user is granted access to the PDF, the PDF is decrypted and opens with the permissions specified in the policy.

By logging in to an Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) account, the author or administrator can track events and change access to policy-secured PDFs. Administrators can view all PDF and system events, modify configuration settings, and change access to policy-secured PDFs.

Create a user security policy

User policies can use passwords, certificates, or Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) to authenticate documents.

The policies for password and certificate security can be stored on a local computer. Security policies created using Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server  (Document Security) are stored on a server. You can audit actions and change security settings dynamically. You can use Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) if your company has licensed the software and made it available to you.

Create a password policy

Create a certificate policy

Creating policies for secure file attachments

You can add security to one or more documents by embedding them in a security envelope and sending it as an email attachment. This method is useful if you want to send a secure file attachment without encrypting the files. You can embed the documents as file attachments in a security envelope, and encrypt and send the envelope to the recipients. When the recipients open the envelope, they can extract the file attachments and save them. The saved files are identical to the original file attachments and are no longer encrypted when saved.

For example, when you send confidential documents, including non-PDF files, you only want the recipient to view the documents. You can embed these documents as attachments in a security envelope, encrypt the envelope, and send it by email. Anyone can open the envelope, view its cover page, and even view a list of the contents. However, only the recipient can view the embedded attachments and extract them.

Create a user security policy with Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security)

If you have access to Adobe Experience Manager Document Security, you can restrict document access and rights of individuals registered with the server. When you create a user policy using Adobe Experience Manager Forms Server, you’re redirected to the Experience Manager Forms Server web page.

Apply security policies to PDFs

You can apply either an organization policy or a user policy to a PDF. To apply a server policy to a document, connect to Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security). Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) security policies must be stored on a server, but PDFs to which the policies are applied need not. You can apply policies to PDFs using Acrobat, server-side batch sequences, or other applications, such as Microsoft Outlook.

Only the policy administrator can edit or remove organizational policies.

Apply a security policy to a PDF

Apply a policy to attachments in Outlook

You can send different types of files as secure PDF attachments in Microsoft Outlook. This option is available only if Adobe Experience Manager - Forms Server (Document Security) is set up and available in Acrobat.

Remove a user security policy from a PDF

You can remove a security policy from a PDF if you have appropriate permissions. In general, a document owner can remove a security policy from a PDF.

Export security settings

Copy, edit, or delete a policy

Revoke a policy-protected PDF

To restrict access to a policy-protected PDF that you made available to a group of users, you can revoke the document.