3 ways HR and benefits managers can mitigate cybersecurity risks

HR and benefits managers not only help their company and employees get the most value from all of these innovative HR and digital health solutions, but also actively manage cyber risk and protect employee information. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It seems like every day a new data breach is in the news. In fact, there have been 1,140 data breaches in the United States so far this year (that’s 3.75 incidents per day), according to the Identity Theft Research Center. With this pace, it’s hard not to think about cybersecurity and what we can do to protect ourselves and our data. For HR professionals, who are responsible for a tremendous amount of employee data, keeping data secure must seem daunting, if not overwhelming.

As a cybersecurity professional for more than two decades, I understand the challenge. The good news is that a simple change in mindset can go a long way toward keeping HR data secure, particularly when it comes to health benefits data. To do this effectively, cybersecurity must become more than a checklist of best practices and industry standards —  it must include an ongoing conversation about risk management.