Many boards still send sensitive internal governance communications via insecure communication channels. Diligent Corporation released a report that found that 56 percent board members use personal emails for board communications. Even the top executives and governance professionals are also doing this. This is a serious risk that needs to be addressed.
It is essential to convince board members with the need for secure communications. This involves educating them about why their current methods leave them vulnerable to data breaches, and assisting them to understand the costs of such breaches in terms of lost operational time, cost of defending against cyberattacks, and concerns over compliance violations.
Cybercriminals are attracted to boards due to the fact that they have access to sensitive information that boardroomsolutions.org/how-to-get-entry-level-data-analyst-job/ is important to them. Hackers typically target high-profile individuals like board directors and C-level executives due to their access to sensitive information that has importance to them. They are therefore a prime target for ransomware, where criminals threat to release sensitive data until they are paid.
To prevent this from happening, the board could consider the adoption of a platform for governance that replaces email and text messages with a secured record system that relies on encrypted data transmission, as well as a specifically-designed mobile application. This eliminates the need to share privileged or insider information with unsecure documents systems or email accounts that are managed by the organization’s IT teams and provides a platform independent of IT that will enable boards to remain in charge during times of crisis.