How to Protect Confidential Documents for Boards

Board members are able to access sensitive information as part of their fiduciary duties. The information they receive must be kept in a secure manner. When they’re discussing the 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 disclosed to the public.

Boards can employ a range of security measures to reduce the risk of leaks. They can do this by restricting access to documents, preventing sharing by encryption, encrypting them, and backing them up. They can also utilize a secure online board management software solution www.dataroomabout.com/how-to-protect-confidential-documents-for-boards-committees-of-association that has granular controls for documents to ensure that no printing is done screens, downloading or downloads and also a thorough audit trail of user activities all the way to page-level details.

A carefully drafted board confidentiality policy will also help to safeguard confidentiality for board members as it clearly communicates to directors the obligations they have and creates a mindset that views leaking as dishonourable and unethical behavior. The chairman or the lead director could provide the policy to prospective directors prior to their nomination and to current directors before their term begins, so that they have the opportunity to ask questions and sign the agreement if they want to.

For the most sensitive data, a secure board portal that allows users to access documents only on devices they own and only use for this purpose is the best method to protect confidential data. Govenda’s secure portal for boards offers enterprise-grade security, granular document control and tamperproof watermarks. It also prevents printing to files, blocks download permissions, and logs usage.