Cybersecurity and risk are among the top concerns of boards – and a major reason why boards are adopting secure board software. Boards of directors have access to some of the most confidential material a company owns. Read on to see why evaluating board portal security is important and what IT teams need to assess.
The pressure on IT teams to safeguard data has never been greater. As executive teams and boards of directors work remotely or in a hybrid model, many boards are seeking ways to share confidential company information and collaborate while reducing the risk of rising cyber attacks.
When it comes to protecting your organization’s information, vetting technology partners to ensure they meet the highest security standards is imperative – and includes many facets from data storage to transit and access. The best means of protection is to be practical, proactive, and selective in choosing your board management software.
Despite the claims, not all board portal software offers the same level of security. When comparing board management systems, it’s worth evaluating security very closely.
To help IT teams compare and evaluate board portals, we’ve provided a step-by-step checklist of the key areas to review for board portal security.
Secure board portals use dedicated, secure cloud servers so they are not prone to hardware issues. Vendors should be managing the data security and encryption of their software and systems exclusively, and not sharing with other tenants.
Review the Service Level Agreement (SLA) uptime guarantees, how often servers are monitored by security personnel, and disaster recovery capabilities.
There are two central types of encryption: how data is stored when no one is accessing it (at-rest encryption), and how data is encrypted when it’s sent from the server to a device (in-transit encryption). Choose a board portal with RSA 4096-bit encryption for data in transit and AES 256-bit encryption for data at rest.
Typically, organizations seek to store their data within their country, such as Canada or the United States. Secure board portal software solutions allow you to choose where to store your data so they align with your data governance policy. Beware of vendors who do not provide a choice in where your data is located and who only meet the legal jurisdiction of where they select your data to be stored.
Secure board software should be subject to rigorous third-party testing to ensure it meets the various agreements and compliance certifications, including ISO 27001. If your organization is highly regulated such as healthcare or a federal agency, you’ll also need to ensure the board portal is compliant to relevant industry standards, such as HIPPA or FISMA.
Check that the board portal technology meets the following certifications:
Server security alone is not enough to safeguard data. Your board portal technology needs to give you access control for specific users and groups to use information so that your data stays within the virtual board portal environment.
Features to help control user access should include:
One of the first ways to protect sensitive board material from a user perspective is to ensure the use of robust passwords. Your board portal software should encourage use of strong passwords with features such as:
Board portals with high security standards have no prior data breaches as well as comprehensive communication protocols in place to deal with one in the event that it should occur. As part of your secure board portal evaluation, ask your vendors if they’ve had any data breaches and how they would deal with potential problems if they arose.
IT teams should conduct regular security audits to ensure that their board portal software remains secure and that any vulnerabilities are identified and addressed promptly. Regular security audits can help identify any gaps or weaknesses in the system and help IT teams stay up-to-date with emerging threats and best practices.
How can IT ensure ongoing board portal security? While some features like data encryption and data loss prevention tools will automatically help you ensure ongoing security, you’ll also want to routinely:
Aprio offers robust security to protect board members from cybersecurity risk as they work, balancing convenient, mobile access to board meeting materials with the most robust technical methods to continuously protect your organization’s data.
Ready to see how Aprio offers an easy-to-use and secure board portal that safeguards protects your organization’s data while providing convenient access to board materials? Talk to our sales team – book a demo today.
One of our product specialists will be in touch to learn more about your business and answer your questions.
We’re happy to help assess your needs and the fit with Aprio. Take the first step.
Talk to SalesBy providing your email, you consent to receive communications from Aprio. You can unsubscribe at any time. See our Privacy Policy.
Suite 1090, 1090 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC Canada V6E 3V7
Suite 450, 1733 H Street
Blaine Washington USA 98230