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How does Trace keep my data secure?

A plain-English guide to how we protect your company's information

Your emissions, spend and climate-risk data is sensitive business information. This article explains, without the jargon, what we do to keep it safe.

Where your data lives

Trace runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the same cloud platform used by banks and government agencies. Your data is stored in AWS's Sydney data centres in Australia. Copies of uploaded files are kept in AWS's Melbourne data centres, so they survive even if a whole data centre goes offline.

How your company's data is kept separate

Trace is a shared platform: many companies use the same application. The most important question is how we make sure no other company can ever see your data.

Think of Trace as a secure office building. Every company has its own locked room, and every document inside carries your company's label.

  • Every record is labelled with its owner. Each piece of data you add (a bill, a spreadsheet row, a risk assessment) is stamped with your company's identity.
  • The filter is automatic. Each time anyone asks Trace for data, the system automatically adds "only this company's records" to the request. Developers don't add this check by hand on each screen, so it can't be forgotten.
  • Trace decides which company you're in, not your browser. When you sign in, our sign-in service checks which companies you belong to and issues a digital pass for one of them. Nobody can change that pass from their own computer to get into another company.
  • Switching company is checked every time. If you belong to more than one company, Trace confirms you're a member before letting you switch.
  • Partners only see their own clients. Consultants and partners who manage several businesses can only open companies that have been linked to their partner account.

Who can do what in your account

Your company's administrators decide who has access. Each user can be given extra roles:

  • Admin: manages company settings and users.
  • Billing Manager: manages subscriptions and payments.
  • Partner Admin: manages client companies (partner accounts only).

Trace checks a user's roles each time they use a protected feature. Removing someone's access takes effect straight away.

Signing in safely

  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA). As well as your password, you can protect your account with a code from an authenticator app such as Google or Microsoft Authenticator. See how to set up MFA.
  • Require MFA for everyone. MFA can be made mandatory for every user in your company. Contact us to have it switched on.
  • Single sign-on (SSO). You can sign in with your Microsoft work account or Google account, so your own IT team's security rules apply. SSO can also be made the only way to sign in to your company, on request. See how to set up Microsoft SSO.
  • No hints for attackers. When a sign-in fails, Trace doesn't reveal whether the account exists.
  • Signing out signs you out everywhere. It ends your session on all your devices.

Encryption: scrambling your data so only Trace can read it

  • On the way. Everything travelling between your browser and Trace is encrypted using modern HTTPS (TLS 1.2 or higher), the same technology online banking uses. Connections inside our systems, for example to our database, are encrypted too.
  • At rest. Our database and the files you upload are stored encrypted.
  • Locked down. Our database sits in a private network with no direct connection to the internet. Uploaded files can only be reached through secure links that expire after a few minutes.

How your files are protected

Many customers upload bills, invoices, evidence and reports to Trace. Here's what happens to them:

  • Private storage, never public. Your files are kept in a private storage area in Sydney. It is completely blocked from public access, so files can't be found or opened from the internet.
  • Encrypted. Files are encrypted while they're stored and while they're being uploaded or downloaded. Our storage rejects any connection that isn't encrypted.
  • Unguessable names. Each file is saved under a random code instead of its original name, so nobody can guess where a file is.
  • Links that expire in minutes. When you upload or open a file, Trace creates a one-off secure link for you that stops working after 5 minutes. Links are only created for signed-in users.
  • Only safe file types. Trace only accepts common document, spreadsheet, image and audio formats. Utility bills, for example, must be PDFs.
  • Malware scanning. Every uploaded file is automatically scanned for viruses and malware, and our team is alerted if a threat is found.
  • Protected against loss. Earlier versions of files are kept, and every file is copied to a second Australian location (Melbourne). An accidental deletion or overwrite can be recovered.
  • AI reads your files in Australia. When Trace's AI reads a utility bill or document for you, it's processed in Australia and is never used to train AI models.

Backups

  • Our database is backed up continuously and can be restored to any point in the last 35 days.
  • Uploaded files keep previous versions and are copied to a second Australian location.

Monitoring and protection

  • Threat detection. AWS's threat detection service watches our accounts, database and network for suspicious activity and alerts our team.
  • Malware scanning. Uploaded files are scanned for malware.
  • Change history. Trace records who changed what and when across important parts of the platform. You can see the history of individual values in your spreadsheets.
  • Activity logs. Security and access logs are kept for 12 months.

How we work behind the scenes

  • Limited staff access. Live customer data sits in its own separate, locked-down environment. Most of our engineers have read-only access to it; only a small number of senior staff can make changes.
  • Internal operations go through a private network. Every internal operation at Trace is carried out over a private, encrypted VPN. Staff can only connect using our company single sign-on (Google Workspace), and multi-factor authentication is mandatory for every staff member.
  • Checked before release. Every change to Trace is run through automated tests and code-quality and security analysis before it's released.
  • Independent testing. Independent security specialists test Trace's defences every year (penetration testing).
  • Trained staff. Our team completes security awareness training.

AI features

Some Trace features, such as reading utility bills, use AI through Amazon Bedrock, AWS's secure AI service. Your data is processed in Australia and is never used to train AI models.

If something goes wrong

If a data breach affected your information, we would notify you as required by Australia's Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Leaving Trace

If you stop using Trace, you can ask us to delete your company's data.

Questions?

Security questionnaire, or something not covered here? Email security@our-trace.com.