As state-owned enterprises that operate at arms length to provide Canadians with vital services, Canadian crown agencies (also known as Crown corporations) have a special responsibility to the public. Not only do they need to ensure that the sector for which they are responsible (be it transportation, the environment, or the Post Office) gets the best possible services, they must also be scrupulous in their dealings at every level, and committed to the highest standards of information security. If a private business suffers a data breach, for example, it may cause them to lose clients; but if a Crown agency is hacked, the implications may effect national security and can even cause a political crisis.
For this reason, Crown agencies have needed to be extremely vigilant about the dangers of cyber crime. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Risks Report, cyber attacks posed the #1 risk of greatest concern for North American businesses. Many businesses have reported that they feel unprepared to meet the ever-changing challenges that hacking, spyware, malware, and data breaches pose.
Given the size of the problem, there is no single solution. Agencies that want to reduce their vulnerability need to incorporate a broad number of security protocols. Firewalls and other software solutions can go a long way toward making it harder for third parties to access protected data, but such defenses can be easily undermined if agencies do not also take care to modernize their communication protections: information stored on a protected server can easily be leaked by a careless employee who emails it to someone using an unprotected email channel.
Agencies need to train their staff about the dangers posed by many common communication tools, but they also need to provide alternatives that are safer to use. At the highest levels of communication, between board members, ordinary protections may not be enough. Board members handle a high volume of data in the course of fulfilling their duties, and so board communication poses one of the most significant risks to an organization’s overall security strategy.
Fortunately, cutting edge tools like board meeting software offer sophisticated solutions to board communication problems. Board portals create secure digital spaces in which information can be exchanged, documents stored, and board member messaging facilitated. For many agencies looking for innovative ways to confront the problems of 21st century communications, portal software is an ideal solution: not only does it protect data, it also streamlines data-sharing and makes it easier for directors to do their jobs.
Crown agencies have a long history of serving the Canadian public, and number among some of the most trusted corporations in the country. This trust is the product of careful stewardship of the public good that has taken decades — and, in some cases centuries — to cement, and it is contingent on agencies maintaining the highest standards of service. For this reason, Crown agency boards need to protect their data and the data of the citizens they serve with the utmost care. Portal software is just one important way Crown agencies can do their part to fight cyber crime and serve the public interest.