Effective communication with board members is essential to ensure that directors are informed, engaged and able to make informed decisions about a company’s success. Boards have the task of finding a balance between the need to effectively communicate and the need to secure sensitive information and avoid cyberattacks.
Boards must utilize secure collaboration tools, such as board portals as well as real-time messaging platforms to keep discussions, documents as well as other sensitive data confidential. This is becoming increasingly important as more businesses are impacted by breaches and hacks, and regulators are introducing new security standards.
Security experts have stated that it is not a question of ”if” an enterprise will experience data breaches and not ”when.” A successful cybersecurity strategy includes a strong partnership between the board and the chief information security officer (CISO). CISOs must leverage every opportunity to communicate their vision and strategy to the board, leveraging the board’s approval to provide more effective responses to cyberattacks.
Many board members and other governance professionals rely on personal emails for internal communications about governance, particularly during virtual meetings. This puts organizations in greater risk of being targeted by phishing and other cyberattacks that target high-profile individuals, like directors and executives at the C-level.
It is critical to train your board members on the importance of using cybersecurity best practices. This should include a thorough review of the kinds of information they share through insecure channels, including meeting minutes, as well as informal communication. It is also essential to use a secure document sharing platform that provides encryption and access controls to prevent documents from being copied or downloaded by outside individuals, such as the ones that were discovered in a cyberattack.