Why HR is Suddenly Ground Zero for Cyber Defense

Think about the kind of information HR handles daily. It's a goldmine for anyone with bad intentions: employee personal details (PII), payroll and bank accounts, health benefits info, performance evaluations, even applicant data sitting in hiring platforms. It makes HR a seriously tempting target. In fact, the numbers are telling. In fact, statistics show that 28% of cyber attacks now specifically target HR departments, and breaches involving employee PII are among the most expensive.

It's not just about hackers trying to steal data directly. HR also must comply with a complex web of regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA that lay down strict laws about handling employee data. Messing up here means potentially hefty fines and a black eye for your company's reputation, which definitely doesn't help when you're trying to attract and keep good people.

And imagine the chaos if core systems like payroll or benefits get hit. What happens if the payroll system is compromised and paychecks get rerouted? Or if employees suddenly can't access their health benefits? These aren't just scary hypotheticals. We've seen real-world consequences like the breach affecting the US Coast Guard's payroll and the outage that hit the RI Bridges benefits system.