Effective communication with the board is vital to ensure that directors are well informed, engaged and able to make informed decisions about the success of a business. Boards face the challenge of balancing the need to effectively communicate as well as the need to protect sensitive information and avoid cyberattacks.
Boards need to use secure collaboration tools, such as board portals as well as real-time messaging platforms to keep discussions documents, meetings and other sensitive data secure. This is becoming a priority as more companies are impacted by breaches and hacks, and regulators adopt new security standards.
Security experts say that it’s not a question of « if » an company will suffer the occurrence of a data breach, but rather « when. » A effective cybersecurity framework must have a strong partnership between the board and the chief information security officer (CISO). CISOs should take advantage of every opportunity to communicate their vision and strategy to the board, leveraging the board’s endorsement to provide more effective responses to cyberattacks.
Many board members and experts in governance rely on their personal email accounts to send internal communications, particularly during virtual meetings. This puts organizations at greater risk of phishing attacks and other cyberattacks targeting prominent individuals, like directors and C-level executives.
It is important to train your board members on the importance of cybersecurity. This should include a thorough review of the kinds of data they share via insecure channels, such as meeting minutes and even informal communication. It is also important to use a secure document sharing platform that provides encryption and access controls to protect documents from being copied or downloaded by unauthorized entities, such as those found in a cyberattack.