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.

Today, HR and benefits managers have countless digital tools at their fingertips, making it easier than ever to purchase, deploy, integrate, administer, and measure a wide range of employee benefit solutions. Many of these are digital health solutions that have great potential to deliver healthcare navigation and change the employer and employee healthcare value equation. But, with all of these new apps, programs, and services come additional concerns about employee data privacy and security.