Security Control Types

Security controls are what you add to Box Shield access policies to define what gets enforced in those policies. There are several security control types, and you can add one or more to any access policy. This topic describes the purpose of each security control type. For details about the settings in security controls, see Shield Access Policy Settings.

​

External Collaboration Restriction

External collaboration restrictions allow you to restrict all or some external collaboration based on domains and users. You can also define exceptions to external collaboration restrictions by entering business justifications for any exceptions you want to allow for an external collaboration restriction. When your users attempt to share something with someone outside your organization that is restricted by a smart access policy with an external collaboration restriction, in the Share dialog box, they will be allowed to select one of the justifications defined in the policy for the exception to the access policy. When the external collaborator security control is placed on a file used for Sign, the external recipient can sign it. However, they will not get a signed copy of the sign log, or the final copy signed by all participants. In such cases you need to send copies to the external recipients manually. You should avoid sending Sign requests with this control placed on it to any external users. See External Collaboration Restriction Settings for details about how to configure external collaboration restriction settings in an access policy.

​

Shared Link Restriction

Shared link restrictions allow you to specify who can access files and folders via shared links. After you apply an access policy with a shared link restriction to content, Shield applies the security control to new shared links going forward and retroactively to all existing ones. For example, if you create an access policy for confidential content and restrict link sharing to Invited people only, users can share links to confidential content only with invited people. If an existing shared link to that content was previously shared with people who are not invited, such people can no longer access the content through that link. See Shared Link Restriction Settings for details about how to configure shared link restriction settings in an access policy.

​

Download and Print Restriction

Download and print restrictions enable you to restrict download, print, online and offline access to the content by managed and external users across platforms. For example, after you enable the policy for Box Web App, for restricted users:

• Box disables the Download option and local editing on desktop via Box Drive, Box Tools, Box Sync, or Box for Office.
• Box does not display the Print option in Box preview, and restricts browser printing - restricted users printing from a browser receive only blank pages.
• Box allows editing in Microsoft Office for the web, but does not display the Print option in Office for the web, and restricts printing from the browser - restricted users printing from a browser receive only blank pages.
• Box restricts saving a copy from Office Online and iWork.
• Box prevents file Move and Copy operations for Editors and Viewers if Restrict Managed Users > Restrict all users except Owners/Co-owners is selected,
• Box prevents file Copy operation for Viewers if Restrict Managed Users > Restrict all users except Owners/Co-owners and editors is selected.
• Workflows created by a user using Relay will be restricted from moving or copying content if the user is restricted from moving or copying the content from any modality, such as the web app, the mobile app, or the desktop app.
• Copying a file from one location in Box Drive and pasting it to a different location in Box Drive is considered a new upload. Because of this, the classification label of the original file will not be copied to the new file.

Additionally, the same restriction applies to the Box Embed Widget in any integrations that have Box embedded. See Download and Print Restriction Settings for details about how to configure download and print restriction settings in an access policy.

​

Integration Restriction

Integration restrictions enable you to control how third-party integrations, including published custom integrations with which your organization is integrated, can access classified content. Note that Microsoft Office for the web, Google Workspace, Apple iWork, and Adobe Acrobat Online, which your users can select to open a file within the Box Web App, are not subject to integration restrictions.

​

Integration Restriction scopes

Integration Restriction provides two independent scopes. You can apply either scope, or both, to an integration for a given classification:

• Download - The integration cannot retrieve the original file bytes. This blocks the integration from downloading the file itself.
• Read - The integration cannot retrieve text or preview representations of the file. This is the pathway that modern AI integrations (such as the ChatGPT Box connector, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and Cursor) use to feed file content into a large language model (LLM). From a data-loss-prevention perspective, an LLM reading a file’s content is equivalent to downloading it, so the Read scope closes that pathway even when the integration never downloads the original file.

The two scopes are independent. For any integration and any classification, you can restrict Read while allowing Download, restrict Download while allowing Read, or restrict both. This lets you tune each integration’s access to sensitive content separately. For example, you might allow a trusted backup integration to download files while blocking an AI assistant from reading their contents.

​

What Integration Restriction blocks

The following table summarizes what each scope blocks for a restricted integration on content matched by the policy.

​

Integration Restriction known limitations

The Read scope blocks the most direct content pathway used by AI connectors, but it does not make a file invisible or unreachable through every other surface. The Read scope does not do the following:

• Hide the file from search, folder listings, or file metadata. The file still appears in search results and folder listings, and GET /2.0/files/{id} still returns metadata such as name, size, and classification. Only the file’s content is blocked.
• Block local AI tools that operate inside a user’s browser session. Tools such as browser-extension assistants (for example, OpenClaw) present as the user, not as an integration, so Integration Restriction does not apply to them.
• Prevent a user from changing a file’s classification label through an integration. Integrations act with the permissions of the user who authorized them, so an integration can change a classification label only when that user could already do so in the Box web app. This is the same action the user can perform directly, not a gap specific to integrations. Custom integrations that use Client Credentials Grant or JWT authentication cannot access content unless they are collaborated in, in which case standard Classification permissions apply.
• Govern Box AI endpoints, including Box AI Extract. See the note above about Box AI endpoints. For the Box MCP server specifically, you can disable Box AI tools from the Admin Console. See Manage tool access.

​

Integration Restriction FAQ

• What’s the difference between the Download and Read scopes?
  The Download scope blocks an integration from retrieving the original file bytes. The Read scope blocks an integration from retrieving text or preview representations of the file. This is the pathway AI integrations use to feed content into an LLM. The scopes are independent, so you can restrict one while allowing the other.
• Will this block ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, or Cursor from reading my files?
  Yes. When you restrict the Read scope for the relevant integration and classification, those integrations are blocked from retrieving the text and preview representations they rely on to read your content. Some pathways are not yet covered, however. See Integration Restriction known limitations for cases a restricted integration could still use to reach content.
• Does this also block Box AI?
  No. The Read scope does not govern Box AI endpoints (such as /2.0/ai/ask and /2.0/ai/extract), so classified content can still be read by Box AI endpoints. For the Box MCP server, you can disable Box AI tools from the Admin Console. See Manage tool access.

See Integration Restriction Settings for details about how to configure integration restriction settings in an access policy.

​

FTP Restriction

FTP restrictions enable you to restrict downloads via the FTP protocol. This is simply a toggle that you can enable or disable, and applies globally to all content protected by the access policy.

​

Watermarking

Watermarking places a semi-transparent overlay across the file’s contents. Admins, and co-admins with requisite permissions, have the option to enforce watermarks and tie them to specific classification labels. This provides the option to limit watermarking to sensitive content. For more information, see Security Control: Watermarking Customization. Box Notes and some file types do not support watermarking. To learn more about watermarking in Box, see Watermarking Files.

​

Box Sign Request Restriction

When Box Sign is enabled for your organization, users can initiate Box Sign signature requests even on files matched by access policies with the following security controls:

• Download and print restrictions
• External collaboration restrictions
• Shared link restrictions

The Box Sign Request security control allows you to prohibit users from requesting signatures for files matched by policies with these security controls. See Box Sign request Restriction Settings.

​

Box Sign request restriction FAQ

• How does Box Sign enforce Shield Policies? Box Sign checks for both the Box Sign Security and Watermarking security controls when selecting a file to be used during the e-signature process. The sender can pick any destination folder for the signing process regardless of any shield policies. Once the signing process is complete any shield policies will be applied based on auto-classification.
• Can the new security control interrupt any existing processes? No, the security control does not affect any past or in progress sign requests.
• Can I download my classified content if sign request restrictions are enabled? Yes, it is legally required that all signees can download a copy of the document. Even if there are coexisting download and print restrictions, you can still download the document.
• If Box Sign requests restriction is disabled, can the users send sign requests to external signees? Yes, even if there are existing collaboration restrictions, users can still share content with external parties using Box Sign.