No matter if they are for the government, business or non-profit organizations, boards have to deal with sensitive and confidential information on a regular basis. They are bound by a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard the interests of shareholders as well as other stakeholders, so they need to be able discuss issues without fearing about their deliberations being publicly and exposed.
A secure board portal, which is only accessible by those who have the appropriate password, is an important way to safeguard the board’s sensitive documents. It is also helpful to establish policies for the safe storage and disposal of physical documents. The final point is that using www.dataroomabout.com/ideals-virtual-data-room-revie a board software that allows secure sharing of files is a great way to avoid access violations.
Although it may be obvious that you should not post confidential information on websites that are public, many organizations fail to take this precaution. This is particularly true for board meetings. Unsolicited leaks of confidential information could damage the image of an organization and even result in legal consequences for directors and the company.
A confidentiality agreement is a vital instrument for keeping confidential documents private, but it isn’t always easy to enforce. The policy of the board on confidentiality should clearly define the consequences for violating the agreement. This could include sanctions and fines. In addition it should clarify what types of information must be kept private and include security protocols, such as encryption and the use of only approved platforms for communication.