ERISA Fiduciary Concerns Relating to Cybersecurity: Theft of Plan Assets

Summary

The 1920s and 1930s were infamous for bank robberies, where robbers disguised themselves as Santa Claus and answered questions by stating that banks are robbed ''because that's where the monies at.'' Texas State Historical Association (6/1/96); FBI, Willie Sutton; see also Helms v. State, 112 Tex. Crim. 203, 205 (Tex. Crim. App. 1929). Fast forward about 100 years, cybercriminals do not need to disguise themselves as Santa Claus, and as to where the ''monies at'' – well, U.S. retirement plan assets totaled $36.7 trillion as of the second quarter of the 2023. See U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief, Office of Congressional Information and Publishing, (9/20/23). Since a cyber breach is not a matter of if it will occur, but a matter of when, fiduciaries of retirement plans should be addressing this risk. This blog will discuss the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) authority over cybercrimes, litigation involving cyber theft of ...