In the course of fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities Board members have access to sensitive information that needs to remain private. If they’re discussing duty performance concerns of staff or discussing strategies for managing a competitor, it’s important that board members are able to discuss sensitive information without fear of it being released to the public.
To reduce the risk of leaks, boards are able to take a variety of security measures including restricting access to sharing, stopping sharing, encrypting documents and backup them. They can also utilize a secure online board management solution that offers granular document controls to block unauthorized printing or downloading of screen shots and also a thorough audit trail of user activities all the way to page-level details.
A well-written board confidentiality policy can help in ensuring confidentiality of board members since it clearly informs directors of their responsibilities and establishes a culture which considers leaks as dishonourable and unethical behavior. The chairman or lead director can provide the policy to potential directors before they are nominated, and to directors who are currently in office before their term begins so that they have an opportunity to inquire and sign the agreement if they want to.
For the most sensitive data, a secure board portal that lets users access documents only on devices they own and exclusively for this purpose is the most effective method to protect confidential information. Govenda’s secure portal for boards offers enterprise-grade security, detailed document control and tamperproof watermarks. It also prevents printing to files, removes permissions to download, and www.dataroomabout.com tracks usage.
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