Press Release

The Cerrado Group Announces the Launch of an Industry Leading Cyber Security Standard

Issued by The Cerrado Group

Nov. 30, 2022

NATIONAL – As part of their commitment to protecting the data and Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of their Plans Sponsors, participants and Centers of Influence, the Cerrado Group is pleased to announce the launch of The Cerrado Standard, an Industry leading cyber security policy that all Cerrado Group member firms must adhere to. This new standard was created in conjunction with leading Cyber Security and Compliance company MegaPlanIT.

Cerrado Group founding member firm Pension Plan Strategies President Joe Burt explains, “Today many companies take a completely reactive approach to cyber security but identifying when and how your organization may be attacked by a cyber threat requires a more proactive strategy. The Cerrado Group developed this standard to help our member firms address and manage risk through a comprehensive approach that includes people, process, and technology. Many companies lack the necessary resources and expertise to create and operate a mature security strategy individually, but together, our members have developed an unprecedented standard that goes beyond what exists today. We recognize the importance of adhering to the DOL guidelines, but we decided to go a step further and include adherence to the NIST cyber security framework. This is a cyber security framework that is recognized outside of our Industry. It is comprehensive and complex and is increasingly being recognized as the national gold standard.”

Burt continues, “This is much more than a cyber audit, it’s our way of fulfilling the promise we made at the commencement of this organization to raise the bar throughout the industry, to find new and better ways of doing business and it is a pledge to continue doing what is in the best interest of our clients and their participants.”

MegaPlanIT VP of Sales & Marketing, Jerry Abowd agrees, “In today’s turbulent Cyber landscape, it is more important than ever to leverage a strong cybersecurity framework within your IT systems. The Cerrado Group partnered with MegaplanIT to establish their own standard that goes beyond simple Security Best Practices, thus providing its members with the cyber resilience they need to successfully combat any potential cyber-attack. This proactive approach will set its members up with an easily manageable compliance program and the ability to stay ahead of any emerging threats.”

The Cerrado Group believes that they have raised the bar on cyber security best practices within the TPA community and look forward to sharing The Cerrado Standard with their clients, Advisors and Recordkeeping partners.

About MegaPlanIT: 

MegaplanIT is a Security Testing, Compliance Assessment & Managed Security (MDR) firm specializing in over 48 technically advanced services designed to protect cardholder and other sensitive data, secure in-scope networks, systems & web/mobile applications to ensure that organizations are both secure and compliant.

About the Cerrado Group:

The Cerrado Group was founded by Nine of the nation’s preeminent Third Party Administrator (TPA) consulting firms, this member only, 501(c)(6) Trade Association was established to offer an entirely new approach to the highly specialized work of retirement plan design, reporting, compliance, administration, and industry education. The Cerrado Group members, while remaining independent regional operators, actively combine their vast resources to fully serve the retirement plan industry at large.

Website: www.CerradoGroup.org

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