Archived Insight | April 25, 2019

Incident Response Plans: Be Prepared for a Data Breach

As plan fiduciaries, sponsors are ultimately responsible for data protection. That’s true even when day-to-day cybersecurity is delegated to the third-party administrator (TPA) handling benefits administration.

That’s why it’s important for sponsors of plans with outsourced administration to oversee cybersecurity and create an incident response plan.

Have a question? We have answers.

Send us a message. 

Speak with Us

Key aspects of cybersecurity oversight

Thorough oversight of outsourced cybersecurity includes these steps:

It’s also important for plan sponsors with outsourced administration to have an incident-response plan they can follow in the event of an actual data breach.

What to include in an incident response plan when you've outsourced to a TPA

You'll need an incident response plan even if you've outsourced all of your administration tasks to a TPA. To develop a meaningful incident response plan in this scenario, address all of the following:

Be prepared — and avoid finger-pointing

Monitoring outsourced cybersecurity gives you confidence that your plan data is being adequately protected.

Creating an incident response plan helps ensure you’ll be prepared to respond if plan data is breached. If you’ve outsourced functions to more than one vendor, having an incident response plan will help avoid finger-pointing among vendors in the event of a breach.

Read other insights

2025 ATC IT Summit Tennessee

ConnectivITy: Bridging Ideas. Bolstering Innovation. Building Connections.

Take your health and pension plan operations and IT to the next level and learn about the challenges facing benefit organizations today.
Female Doctor Talking To Patient During Mammography Test In Examination Room

New Requirements for Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening

Our insight outlines what group health plan sponsors need to know to comply with these preventive care updates.
Hispanic Young Business Woman Working On Laptop Computer Reading Financial Document Report In Office

Top 10 Compliance Checks to Simplify Annuity Fund Oversight

Our handy tool makes it easy for trustees and multiemployer annuity (DC) fund plan administrators to stay on top of critical compliance steps.

This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. You are encouraged to discuss the issues raised here with your legal, tax and other advisors before determining how the issues apply to your specific situations.