The world of cyber security in employee benefits plans has grown tremendously over the last 20 years. It has evolved from account numbers and firm IDs to more elaborate and useful solutions. So what can plan sponsors do to better protect their data as well as plan beneficiaries and participants?
We’re way beyond the days of simple usernames and passwords. Automatic logout after inactivity and multi-factor authentication are requirements of basic cyber protection in 2019.
Things are evolving even beyond that, however. Custom security questions are becoming more popular and text/email codes for logging in on new devices are also becoming more widely used. Text alerts for new logins or logins on new devices are becoming more prevalent as well. Click here to learn more about new measures to increase plan cybersecurity.
But with cyber attack methods evolving to skirt these cybersecurity methods, there’s only so much you can do to prevent a cyber attack or data breach.
The only way to guarantee that you and your company are protected in the event of a cyber attack is cyber liability insurance.
Where can a plan sponsor find cyber coverage to protect your plan?
Colonial Surety includes cyber liability insurance with our ERISA fidelity bond packages with fiduciary liability insurance to best protect your company plan against a cyber attack.
Colonial’s cyber insurance provides a services-based solution to help plan sponsors manage data breaches successfully. These services include a dedicated team of cyber breach professionals who assist plan sponsors at every stage of incident investigation and breach response. These professionals coordinate the carefully vetted forensics experts and specialized lawyers to help plan sponsors establish what’s been compromised; assess plan sponsor responsibility; and, notify those individuals affected. In addition, these services will also coordinate credit or identity monitoring, and PR advice to help the plan sponsor safeguard its reputation. Of course, Colonial’s cyber insurance also indemnifies and defends plan sponsors from covered lawsuits or regulatory actions, the risk of which may be reduced by a well-coordinated breach response, but can never be completely eliminated.
Ongoing governance and evaluation of recordkeepers can help protect data, but the only way to fully protect against a potential cyber attack’s data breach is to purchase cyber liability insurance from Colonial Surety Company.