Board meetings are an essential process in the company’s life. They are where vital decisions are made, and the company’s direction is decided. These meetings can be financial, technical, or managerial.

Because of this, board meetings can be a potential target for hackers. The valuable data e shared and created during the meetings can be misused in many ways. Leveraging secure cloud storage solutions can help businesses protect that data.

To protect your board meetings, you should start by understanding the importance of secure cloud storage for board data and finding the best strategy to protect it. 

Importance of protecting board meeting data

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A board meeting usually revolves around an important topic. Whether that’s something technical about the product’s lifecycle, future marketing campaigns, handling a problem, or devising a financial plan, the meeting is likely to contain valuable information.

While there’s always a human risk, even in physical meetings, that someone will leak information, online board meetings have additional problems. For example, there are chances that someone is using a stolen account to join the meeting or that a compromised note-taking app is being used by the meeting members. 

Data generated and stored during and after the meeting can contain information that could compromise the company. A hacker who steals this data can use it to blackmail the board members or sell it to your competition. 

On the other hand, having your cloud storage hacked and data stolen counts as data leakage. You can also be eligible for fines because data regulations could be broken. 

Cloud storage solutions explained

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One of the most practical ways to share files and collaborate with others is through cloud storage solutions. These scalable and flexible solutions allow users to share, store, and access data. 

Cloud storage providers often offer several security features. However, they often aren’t enough, as data leaks can occur due to oversights in other aspects. For example, Google Workspace has an SSL/TLS certificate that encrypts data between a user and a client.

Furthermore, it allows you to implement a multi-factor authentication procedure quickly. However, your company’s computer network could be compromised, which is why it’s important to implement additional data security strategies such as real-time monitoring and strong password policies. 

Strategies for Securing Board Meeting Data

Once you understand why your business should pay attention to board meeting data security, you should move on to implementing effective strategies to achieve it. 

Some methods mentioned on this list require technical personnel, while others can be implemented as policies or with minimal training. 

1. Real-time monitoring and response

One of the best ways to protect your data is through security solutions that provide you with real-time monitoring and protection. This type of software often leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect unusual patterns in user behavior.

Real-time monitoring tools can send alerts whenever there’s suspicious traffic or behavior. When these occur or unauthorized attempts are detected, the system can instantly trigger alerts and apply extra security measures without manual oversight.

Leveraging event-driven architecture allows organizations to automate these critical safeguards, ensuring data stays secure and accessible only to authorized individuals. Many cloud storage services offer these features by default, but combining them with third-party apps is always great. 

2. Encrypted cloud storage

When choosing business cloud storage, always choose providers offering robust security measures. This includes advanced encryption protocols such as the latest AES, which secures data.

It’s also important that your cloud storage provider has features that protect data at rest and in transit. This way, transferring data such as board meeting notes is secure, and the risk of someone reading the data while in transit is minimized.

If the provider uses such encryption methods, your data will be protected even if unauthorized access occurs. This is because data will be unreadable without the decryption key. 

3. End-to-end encryption for file sharing

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It’s important that your files are encrypted during sharing and that only you and the recipient can read them. End-to-end encryption ensures this, and many cloud storage options offer this functionality.

However, a problem occurs when the files are shared on risky platforms. For example, an employee uses their social media to share board meeting files rather than a company-approved platform. 

4. Compliance audits

While your business must implement cybersecurity measures to guarantee the safety of board meeting data, compliance regulations need to be considered as well. Depending on the location of your business, you should acknowledge and comply with relevant data processing regulations.

This is GPDR for businesses that operate with customers and clients from Europe. On the other hand, we have regulations such as HIPAA, PIPEDA, and CCPA. Regular compliance audits ensure that the company complies with regulations.

Furthermore, these audits should apply to confirm whether your file-sharing and cloud-storage solutions are compliant with the relevant regulations.

5. Data privacy policies

Hackers and external actors aren’t the only threat to your data. Everyone in your company should understand how to handle data and which information shouldn’t be shared outside the company. 

Data privacy policies outline acceptable use, access limitations, and data handling procedures. They can also include acceptable platforms and software for communication and file sharing.

Adopting a data privacy policy isn’t a one-time action. Instead, it should be regularly enforced and updated according to the updates in laws, regulatory requirements, and your company’s direction and culture. 

Cloud storage solutions play an essential role in a company’s effectiveness

Your Google Drive or other cloud storage options can lead to significant problems without adequate protection. To solve this, you should implement at least one of the strategies mentioned in this article.

A company’s security methods should be based on informed decisions based on its weak points. It’s best to consult with an external cybersecurity professional or agency. However, this can be costly.
If you can’t afford proper cybersecurity vetting of your business systems, it’s best to implement the fundamental and recommended cybersecurity measures. Furthermore, anti-virus and anti-fraud solutions can help you protect your business for a fee.

Featured Image by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash