Cybersecurity Issues Affecting Health Benefit Plans

This document is about a report from the U.S. Department of Labor's Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans that examines cybersecurity issues affecting health benefit plans. The report identifies key threats and vulnerabilities, discusses the relationship between ERISA and HIPAA, and provides six recommendations for the Department of Labor to consider, including making explicit that prudent management of cybersecurity risks is a fiduciary duty, clarifying the applicability of DOL's 2021 cybersecurity guidance to health plans, and providing education and materials to assist health plan sponsors and fiduciaries in understanding and fulfilling their cybersecurity-related responsibilities.