Topic
This article explains how Everbridge Suite Organization Admins can manage the File Encryption setting used for secure SFTP and manual CSV uploads of contacts and assets.
Description
Role requirements and switching to an Organization admin role
Secure FTP and File Encryption settings at the organization level are only available to Organization admin roles. Incident-focused roles, such as VCC admin or VCC Operator, do not expose these settings in the UI.
To access File Encryption and related Secure FTP settings as an Organization admin:
- Sign in to the Everbridge Manager Portal.
- Use the role switcher by selecting the down arrow next to the current role name.
- Select Organization admin from the list of available roles.
If an Organization admin role is not available in a particular instance, the local role model for that deployment may differ; in that case, the File Encryption controls may not be visible from the current account.
Navigating to File Encryption and Upload Options
The File Encryption setting for uploads is part of the organization-level Upload Options.
To navigate to File Encryption for contacts and assets:
- Ensure the Organization admin role is active.
- Open Settings.
- Select Organization.
- Choose Contacts and Groups (or Contacts/Assets, depending on the environment’s label).
- Select Upload Options.
The File Encryption controls appear at or near the top of the Upload Options page. These settings were previously under a Security or “Secure FTP” area in some older configurations; any legacy references to Security or Secure FTP in documentation now correspond to this Upload Options location.
Understanding the File Encryption setting
File Encryption controls whether Everbridge expects encrypted contact and asset CSV files for organization-level uploads.
- File Encryption OFF: File-level encryption for SFTP uploads is disabled for that organization. Both SFTP and manual CSV uploads operate without encryption.
- File Encryption ON: The organization is configured to accept encrypted files. SFTP upload services must encrypt CSV files with the organization’s file-encryption key so the platform can decrypt them on import.
Everbridge supports optional file encryption using GPG keys for contact uploads (compatible with PGP) and requires GPG for asset uploads. Organization-level encryption keys used with this setting are generated in the Manager Portal and have a defined expiration period.
Effect on SFTP uploads
When File Encryption is enabled at the organization level:
- SFTP upload processes are expected to encrypt CSV files using the organization’s file-encryption key before transfer.
- The upload service uses that key to decrypt the file upon receipt.
When File Encryption is disabled at the organization level:
- Encrypted files are not required and plain CSV files can be transferred over SFTP.
Encryption for SFTP uploads is not enabled by default. To use encrypted SFTP feeds, an Organization Admin must enable File Encryption in Upload Options and configure the integration to encrypt files with the corresponding key.
Effect on manual CSV uploads
The File Encryption setting also affects manual CSV uploads performed from within the Manager Portal.
- If File Encryption is ON, manual upload workflows expect encrypted files and may block or fail plain CSV uploads intended for troubleshooting or ad hoc imports.
- If File Encryption is OFF, standard (unencrypted) CSV files can be manually uploaded from the Contacts section.
Temporarily disabling encryption for manual CSV uploads
Organization Admins may occasionally need to perform a one-time or troubleshooting CSV upload without encryption, even when production SFTP feeds normally use encrypted files.
To upload a CSV file when encryption is currently enabled:
- In the Manager Portal, ensure the Organization admin role is active.
- Go to Settings > Organization > Contacts and Groups > Upload Options.
- Set File Encryption to Off.
- Perform the manual CSV upload from the Contacts upload interface.
- Return to Upload Options and re-enable File Encryption if encrypted SFTP uploads are required for production.
This approach allows a temporary non-encrypted manual upload without changing the long-term SFTP integration design. After re-enabling File Encryption, SFTP automations should continue to encrypt files with the organization’s active encryption key.
Re-enabling encryption for production SFTP feeds
For ongoing production SFTP integrations, Everbridge recommends keeping File Encryption enabled when the organization’s security requirements call for encrypted file transfer and storage.
To ensure production SFTP feeds use encryption correctly:
- Confirm that File Encryption is set to On under Settings > Organization > Contacts and Groups > Upload Options.
- Download or verify the active organization-level encryption key from the same Upload Options page.
- Configure the SFTP upload process to encrypt CSV files using this key before transmission.
If a new organization-level key is generated (for example, for key rotation), the SFTP upload process must be updated to use the new key so that uploads continue to decrypt successfully.
Known limitations and instance-specific variations
There are several behaviors and variations Organization Admins should be aware of when working with File Encryption and SFTP/CSV uploads:
- Scope differences: Account-level and organization-level SFTP/encryption configurations use different keys and settings. This article focuses on organization-level File Encryption in Upload Options. For account-level SFTP settings, separate configuration pages and keys apply.
- Role visibility: Secure FTP and File Encryption settings are only visible when an Organization admin role (or equivalent for that instance) is active. Other roles cannot access these controls.
- Label variations: Some environments label the navigation as Contacts and Groups, others as Contacts/Assets. In older documentation, these settings may also be described as being under a Security or “Secure FTP” section, but they are now consolidated under Upload Options.
- External tools behavior: In some external integration tools, disabling encryption requires removing the configured key from the sending application. Simply unchecking an option in that external tool may not stop encryption if the key remains present.
For full details on SFTP setup, folder paths, and encryption key generation, consult the dedicated Everbridge SFTP configuration and file-encryption key generation guides referenced from the Upload Options page and the Everbridge support site.