Board members are able to access sensitive information as part of their fiduciary responsibilities. This information must be kept confidential. Whether they’re deliberating on the duty performance concerns of staff or discussing strategies for managing the competition, it’s crucial that board members have the ability to discuss sensitive information without fear of it being leaked publicly.

To mitigate the risk of leaks, boards are able to adopt a range of robust security measures including restricting access to sharing, stopping sharing, encryption of documents and backing them up. They can also employ a secure online board management software solution which provides precise document control to block unauthorized printing or downloading of screen shots and also a thorough audit trail of user activity down to the page level.

A well-written board confidentiality policy why use virtual data rooms can help to safeguard confidentiality for board members as it clearly communicates to directors the obligations they have and creates a culture that considers leaks as dishonourable and unprofessional behavior. The chairman or the lead director can provide the policy to potential directors before they are appointed and to current directors before their term begins, to give them an opportunity to inquire and sign the agreement if they wish to do so.

A secure board portal is the most effective way to safeguard sensitive information. It lets users only access documents on devices they own and only use for this purpose. Govenda’s secure Board Portal offers enterprise-grade security and specific document controls such as tamper proof watermarks, blocked printing to file and revocation of download permissions and logging of usage to track who has viewed and printed each document.