Top Faxing Industries – Government Institutions and Agencies

While many have assumed for over a decade that faxing would be phased out by newer technologies, several institutions such as the government still require fax technology for many important document transmissions. There are several reasons why fax is sometimes the most suitable technology for government processes.

Why the Government Still Uses Fax:

  • Security
  • Official Implications
  • Authenticity
  • Familiarity

Faxing Provides Better Security

Fax transmissions are still more secure than the most readily available alternative – email. Faxes are sent directly from one end to the other in direct correspondence; there is little chance that a hacker can intercept information from a fax unless he was specifically targeting it. In contrast, emails are much easier to intercept as they are not even encrypted when sent.

The nature of fax is that it arrives immediately and only arrives, once. Emails and their attachments will stay in an inbox forever unless they are deleted. More time available means that it’s easier for a hacker to gain access to the document. The security of fax is of upmost importance to the government, which frequently handles sensitive, confidential information.

Official Implications and Authenticity

secure faxing options

In addition to security, faxes are both official and authentic. They are official because faxed documents carry both a time and date stamp, a characteristic which emails do not have on the document itself. They are authentic because faxes can be signed before sending, which verifies the identity of the party involved. With emails there is no way to verify the identity of the sender, all someone needs in order to impersonate you is your password. Because of the official nature and authenticity of faxes, they can be used as evidence of intent in court.

The government handles a lot of paperwork and people complain that processes take too long as it is. If these institutions allowed documents to be sent over email it would add an extra dimension of uncertain validity to the paperwork. Doing so could delay processes even longer. This is obviously not an optimal solution.

Faxing Provides Familiarity

Finally, a common theme in regards to government institutions is how long it takes for even small changes to occur. With fax transmission being ingrained in their processes for decades now, the familiarity of this system lends to its persistence. Since fax has always been reliable, why change now? This might not be foolproof reasoning, but the implication stays the same: most government offices will continue to use fax in the foreseeable future.

A Few Government Agencies that Require Fax

Don’t Forget to Use a Fax Coversheet

In order to ensure your fax is received in full and forwarded to the correct person, remember to always include a fax coversheet for all of your faxes. We have customizable fax coversheets free for download here: https://www.faxcompare.com/free-fax-cover-sheets

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