Friday, May 14, 2010

Security + Certification

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an independent information security certification governed by the not-for-profit[1] International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, commonly known as (ISC)². As of June 30, 2009, (ISC)² reports 63,358 members who hold the CISSP certification in 134 countries.[2] In June, 2004, the CISSP was the first information security credential accredited by ANSI ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2003 accreditation, and, as such, has led industry acceptance of this global standard and its allegedly stringent requirements.[3] It is formally approved by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in both their Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Managerial (IAM) categories.[4] The CISSP has been adopted as a baseline for the U.S. National Security Agency's ISSEP program.[5]

Certification subject matter

The CISSP curriculum covers subject matter in a variety of Information Security topics. The CISSP examination is based on what (ISC)² terms the Common Body of Knowledge (or CBK). According to (ISC)², "the CISSP CBK is a taxonomy -- a collection of topics relevant to information security professionals around the world. The CISSP CBK establishes a common framework of information security terms and principles that allow information security professionals worldwide to discuss, debate and resolve matters pertaining to the profession with a common understanding."[6]
The CISSP CBK is fundamentally based on the CIA triad, the core information security and assurance tenets: confidentiality, integrity and availability,[6] and attempts to balance the three across ten areas of interest, which are also called domains. The ten CBK domains are:[7]

[edit] Requirements

Candidates for the CISSP must meet several requirements:
  • Possess a minimum of five years of direct full-time security work experience in two or more of the ten (ISC)² information security domains (CBK). One year may be waived for having either a four-year college degree, a Master's degree in Information Security, or for possessing one of a number of other certifications from other organizations.[8] If you don't have the necessary five years of experience, you may earn the Associate of (ISC)² designation by passing the required CISSP examination. The Associate of (ISC)² for CISSP designation is valid for a maximum of six years from the date (ISC)² notifies you that you have passed the exam, within which time, you'll need to obtain the required experience and submit the required endorsement form for certification as a CISSP. Once you have achieved the professional experience requirements your certification will be converted to CISSP status.[9]
  • Attest to the truth of their assertions regarding professional experience and accept the CISSP Code of Ethics.[10]
  • Answer four questions regarding criminal history and related background.[11]
  • Pass the CISSP exam with a scaled score of 700 points or greater. The exam is multiple choice, consisting of 250 questions with four options each, to be answered over a period of six hours.[11]
  • Have their qualifications endorsed by another CISSP in good standing. The endorser attests that the candidate's assertions regarding professional experience are true to the best of their knowledge, and that the candidate is in good standing within the information security industry.[12]

[edit] Ongoing certification

The CISSP credential is valid for only three years, after which it must be renewed. The credential can be renewed by re-taking the exam; however, the more common method is to report at least 120 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits since the previous renewal. Currently, to maintain the CISSP certification, a member is required to earn and submit a total of 120 CPEs by the end of their three-year certification cycle and pay the Annual Membership Fee of US$85 during each year of the three-year certification cycle before the annual anniversary date. With the new changes effective 30 April 2008, CISSPs are required to earn and post a minimum of 20 CPEs (of the 120 CPE certification cycle total requirement) and pay the AMF of US$85 during each year of the three-year certification cycle before the member’s certification or recertification annual anniversary date. For CISSPs who hold one or more concentrations, CPEs submitted for the CISSP concentration(s) will be counted toward the annual minimum CPEs required for the CISSP.[13]
CPEs can be earned through several paths, including taking classes, attending conferences and seminars, teaching others, undertaking volunteer work, professional writing, etc.., all in areas covered by the CBK. Most activities earn 1 CPE for each hour of time spent, however preparing (but not delivering) training for others is weighted at 4 CPEs/hour, published articles are worth 10 CPEs, and published books 40 CPEs.[14]

[edit] Specialized concentrations

Experienced information security professionals with an (ISC)² credential in good standing can progress to meet requirements for (ISC)² Concentrations to demonstrate further knowledge of select CBK domains. A passing score on a concentration examination is intended to demonstrate proven capabilities and subject-matter expertise beyond that required for the CISSP.
Current concentrations for CISSPs include the:

[edit] Promotion

(ISC)² promotes the CISSP certification as the "international gold standard" against which other security certifications are measured.[15]
IT professionals with security expertise are often in high demand, and the CISSP is one metric by which that expertise can be demonstrated. In 2005, CertMag surveyed 35,167 IT professionals in 170 countries on compensation and found that CISSPs led their list of certificates ranked by salary, with the Certified Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) program drawing $116,970 annually and the Certified Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (CISSP-ISSAP) earning $111,870.” A 2006 Certification Magazine salary survey also ranked the CISSP credential highly at $94,070 per year, and ranked CISSP concentration certifications as the top best paid credentials in IT, with CISSP-ISSAPs averaging at $114,210 per year and CISSP-ISSMP at $111,280 per year.[16] These numbers correlate with compensation advantages enjoyed by IT security professionals in general, as well as with advantages accruing to the seniority and management roles that intersect with the concentration certificates.[17]

[edit] Criticisms of the CISSP

According to Sunil Hazari, the CISSP only demonstrates mere understanding of domains rather than competence. Furthermore, "the CISSP certification … focus is technological issues, and the CBK does not address topics related to organization, finance, and strategy" as the CISSP lacks a broad based understanding of business. Consequently, University of Maryland addressed this gap by developing "The BMGT727 course used the CBK but built on it to provide a broader business-based perspective on information security." (Hazari, 2002)[18]
Mariana Hentea, Harpal S. Dhillon & Manpreet Dhillon reveal a different opinion, mentioning that "academic qualifications support broad knowledge and skills in general, professional certifications may be effective in a limited area of operations. Academic programs exposing the students to theoretical concepts and problem solving experience are critical for preparing graduates for jobs in the information security" (Hentea, Dhillon, Dhillon, 2006).[19]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "About (ISC)²"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/aboutus/default.aspx

    . Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  2. ^ "Member Counts"

    . https://www.isc2.org/Member-Counts.aspx

    . Retrieved July 8, 2009. 
  3. ^ (ISC)² (September 26, 2005). "(ISC)² CISSP Security Credential Earns ISO/IEC 17024 Re-accreditation from ANSI"

    . Press release. http://www.isc2.org/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=2796

    . Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  4. ^ "DoD 8570.01-M Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program"

    (PDF). United States Department of Defense. December 19, 2005. http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/857001m.pdf

    . Retrieved March 23, 2007. 
  5. ^ "NSA Partners With (ISC)² To Create New InfoSec Certicication"

    . February 27, 2003. https://www.isc2.org/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=3334

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  6. ^ a b Tipton; Henry. Official (ISC)² Guide to the CISSP CBK. Auerbach Publications. ISBN 0-8493-8231-9. 
  7. ^ "CISSP Education & Certification"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/cissp/default.aspx

    . Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  8. ^ "CISSP Professional Experience Requirement"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/cissp-professional-experience.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  9. ^ "How to Become an Associate"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/how-to-become-an-associate.aspx

    . Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  10. ^ "(ISC)² Code of Ethics"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/ethics/default.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  11. ^ a b "How To Certify"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/cissp-how-to-certify.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  12. ^ "Endorsement"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/endorsement.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  13. ^ "Maintaining Your Credential"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/maintaining-your-credential.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  14. ^ "Maintaining Your Credential"

    . (ISC)². 2009. https://www.isc2.org/maintaining-your-credential.aspx

    . Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
  15. ^ (ISC)² (June 23, 2004). "(ISC)² CISSP Security Credential Achieves New International Standard for Personnel Certification"

    . Press release. https://www.isc2.org/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=3260

    . Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  16. ^ "Top Certifications by Salary in 2007"

    . Certification Magazine. April 11, 2007. Archived from the original

    on March 29, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070329054214/http://www.certmag.com/images/CM1206_salSurveyFig1.jpg

    . Retrieved October 14, 2007. 
  17. ^ Sosbe, Tim; Hollis, Emily; Summerfield, Brian; McLean, Cari (December 2005). "CertMag’s 2005 Salary Survey: Monitoring Your Net Worth"

    . Certification Magazine (CertMag). Archived from the original

    on June 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070607155757/http://www.certmag.com/articles/templates/CM_gen_Article_template.asp?articleid=1524&zoneid=224

    . Retrieved April 27, 2007. 
  18. ^ Hazari, S. I. (2002). Reengineering an information security course for business management focus. Journal of Information Systems Education. 13(3), 197-204. Retrieved from http://jise.org/Issues/13/197.pdf

  19. ^ Hentea, M, Dhillon, H., Dhillon, M., (2006) Towards Changes in Information Security Education. Journal of Information Technology Education Volume 5, 2006. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.107.2077&rep=rep1&type=pdf





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