NSA boosts credentials

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk () c4i org>

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0818/tec-nsa-08-18-03.asp

By Matthew French 
August 18, 2003

Scrutiny of job applicants' credentials at the National Security 
Agency has always been intense, and it's about to get even more 
intense for senior information technology security specialists.

The International Information Systems Security Certification 
Consortium signed a deal with the agency in February to develop a 
certification test for NSA's Information Assurance Directorate. The 
outcome is the Information Systems Security Engineering Professional 
(ISSEP) credential, a new certification for the agency's employees or 
contractors who work on information assurance.

Dow Williamson, communications director for the consortium, said 
professionals who already have other information systems 
certifications were looking for something else that could help advance 
their careers and set them apart from general information systems 
workers. The group already offered a certification called the 
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), but ISSEP 
takes that one step further.

"Our CISSPs said they wanted more of a career path focus and asked 
what came next after CISSP certification," Williamson said. "CISSP 
focuses on 10 domains of the information security space, and the ISSEP 
focuses on four additional domains."

An NSA spokesperson said the certification will allow the agency to 
identify individuals whose skills extend beyond the information 
security basics.

"For NSA, this will serve to push our process to a larger community 
and to identify a group of individuals and companies who could provide 
support to NSA customers," the spokesperson said. "This exam is 
available to anyone worldwide, but the focus will continue to be on 
U.S. regulations."

The spokesperson said the certification will not be required.

"While the CISSP certification may be recommended for many positions 
within the Information |Assurance Directorate and other areas of NSA, 
the ISSEP certification will not be as widespread," the spokesperson 
said. "One area where the certification may be required or desired is 
in the role of systems security designer."

Williamson said the consortium has focused much of its effort on the 
Defense Department and its national security requirements during the 
past several months. "There are a lot of folks at NSA who have CISSP 
certification," he said. "So we think a lot of them will be interested 
in the ISSEP follow-up. This partnership with NSA and ISSEP represents 
a new relationship."

***

Ratcheting up certifications 

The National Security Agency is offering a new certification level for 
its information technology staff. The Information Systems Security 
Engineering Professional certification covers the following subject 
matters:

* Systems security engineering.

* Technology management.

* Certification and accreditation.

* U.S. government information assurance regulations.

***

The more traditional Certified Information Systems Security 
Professional certification covers the following subjects:

* Access control systems and methodology.

* Applications and systems development. 

* Business continuity planning. 

* Cryptography. 

* Law, investigation and ethics. 

* Operations security. 

* Physical security. 

* Security architecture and models. 

* Security management practices. 

* Telecommunications, network and Internet security.
 
 

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without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
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