It’s not just big companies that fall victim to cyber incidents. A number of major data breaches in Australia have had widespread impact beyond the corporate sector. One of the largest occurred in 2016, when a technology provider inadvertently made records affecting more than half a million donors to a leading not-for-profit organisation public.

A comparative study of 118 Australian organisations conducted by Diligent looking at boardroom communications and cyber security found that:

• 81% Communicate via personal email accounts

• 75% Download board materials onto personal devices / drives

• 41% Use a personal PC, laptop or tablet for board business

• 7% Board communications are sanctioned by the IT/Data Security team

How organisations can strengthen their boardroom communication practices:

• Prepare for cyber incidents as an inevitable part of business

• Recognise the value of information assets

• Make cyber risk a regular agenda item in the boardroom

• Step-up director training on cybersecurity

• Use Technology to encourage collaboration and evolve board practises

No organisation can afford to be complacent in this climate of growing cyber threats. Directors are talking about cybersecurity, but that isn’t enough to protect them and the organisations they serve. They need to ‘walk the talk’. Otherwise, they risk being the weak link that exposes critical business information.

Download the full report or get in touch and one of our governance experts will be in contact with you.