(ISC)² Blog

Meet the Recipients of the 2021 (ISC)² Diversity Global Achievement Awards

The (ISC)² Diversity Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to building a more diverse workforce in the cybersecurity community. Asia-Pacific Region (ISC)² Diversity Award Honoree Neha Malhotra, CISSP, CCSP is the Vice President, Tech & Cybersecurity Operational Risk Manager at JP Morgan Chase, and was earlier working within Cyber Security Attack Surface Management at Credit Suisse. Neha is an information & cybersecurity professional based in Singapore, with more than 15 years of IT and leadership experience within the BFSI, consulting and manufacturing sectors. Neha was nominated for her advocacy work mentoring and serving as a career advisor for... Read more →

What Would You Say to the CEO about Hiring for the Cloud?

We asked CISSPs and CSSPs around the world, “If you could say anything to your CEO about hiring for the cloud, what would it be?” Respondents said one of the biggest challenges facing cloud specialists and senior executives in the C-suite is the difference in what each side holds as priority. While senior executives are as passionate as cloud experts about protecting their organization and ensuring security and growth for the long-term — their interests are built around issues of fiscal responsibility. At the same time, cloud specialists seek to explore the people, processes and tools that will help ensure... Read more →

The Importance of Correctly Scoping Your Information Systems

The decision to authorize (or not) an information system to operate within an organization is the result of an on-going project that needs to be dealt effectively to be successful and prevent your business from being exposed to unwanted threats. As NIST highlights, authorization to operate (ATO) is a “management decision to explicitly accept the risks” from operating an information system. An authorizing officer needs not only have executive buy-in to fulfill their project, but they need to possess the foundational knowledge required to avoid project scope creep. An (ISC)² Certified Authorization Professional (CAP) is the practitioner who can exercise... Read more →

CCSP vs. CCNA and CCNP Data Center: What Are the Key Differences?

When asked how CISOs could better address the impact of the cybersecurity skills shortage, the most popular suggestion was to increase the overall commitment to training, according to The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals report from Enterprise Strategy Group and the Information Systems Security Association. In fact, security professionals must continue developing their professional skills or put their organizations at a competitive disadvantage, according to 91 percent of respondents. But with so many training and certification options out there, which most effectively demonstrates the broad knowledge and skills required to secure cloud environments? Let’s compare three leading cybersecurity certifications:... Read more →

Meet Rich Owen, Honoree of the 2021 (ISC)² Harold F. Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award

Richard “Rich” W. Owen, Jr., CISSP has over 50 years of experience in the field of information protection. He is a past International President of the Information Systems Security Association, Distinguished Fellow, member of the Honor Roll and a member of the Information Security Hall of Fame. He is also a Fellow of the Ponemon Institute and the CEO of Johnny Security Seed, LLC. Rich worked alongside Harold “Hal” F. Tipton on several endeavors, including the creation of (ISC)² and the first CISSP exam as one of the early pioneers of the information security industry. Rich created numerous quality security... Read more →

Meet Megan West, Honoree of the 2021 (ISC)² CEO Global Achievement Award

Megan “Meg” West, CISSP, is an Incident Response Consultant for IBM’s X-Force Incident Response Team. Prior to joining IBM, she worked as the Global Cybersecurity Incident Response Manager for another F100 company. She currently holds the CISSP and Security+ certifications as well as a Master of Science degree in cybersecurity. She has spoken at several international cybersecurity conferences including (ISC)² Security Congress and SAP Sapphire Now. Megan spends her free time mentoring college students as they enter the cybersecurity field. She also enjoys creating free cybersecurity content on various social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. Register now to... Read more →

How Can Parents Keep Children Safe Online?

The Center for Cyber Safety and Education partnered with UKnightedXP to release Gaming for Parents, a new online program to support parents in keeping their families safe online and to raise awareness of the threats and potential mishaps. The program empowers parents with knowledge on parental controls and safety settings, choosing games based on the ESRB rating scale, securing internet connection, keeping software and devices up-to-date, training children on proper online conduct, cyberbullying and even signs of addiction. Most parents of younger children grew up playing video games, but the home consoles of past decades have experienced major technology upgrades... Read more →

Overcoming the User Visibility Challenge

The use and processing of decentralized data stored in cloud platforms creates security challenges that require data protection strategies to evolve. That starts with achieving better visibility into what applications their employees are using, and how they are using them. User Activity Monitoring (UAM) solutions promise to identify and stop abnormal or anomalous user behavior, whether unintentional or malicious. As opposed to traditional indicators of compromise, indications of abuse help organizations to effectively detect, prioritize, and respond to areas of concern well before a data breach has occurred. Certified cloud security professionals can help their organizations establish and enforce visibility... Read more →

Meet the Chapters Being Honored at the 2021 (ISC)² Global Achievement Awards

The Regional (ISC)² Chapter Recognition Awards are presented to an official chapter of (ISC)² within a specific region that best promotes the vision of (ISC)² by inspiring a safe and secure cyber world. The following chapters have demonstrated a well-rounded offering of activities and services designed to benefit its members and affiliates, while making a significant contribution to the profession and local community through the core focus areas of the (ISC)² Chapter Program of Connect, Educate, Inspire and Secure. Join us in celebrating the regional winners at the (ISC)² Global Achievement Awards during (ISC)² Security Congress. Asia-Pacific: Singapore Chapter The... Read more →

(ISC)² Celebrates Cybersecurity Awareness Month With Treasure Trove of Knowledge Building Resources

It’s October! And that can mean only one thing. It’s time to kick off the annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, hosted by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). With remote work the new normal for most and ransomware attacks at peak fever pitch, there’s no time like now to learn about cybersecurity, or for those in the know, for a refresher on some of the common pitfalls to avoid in order to keep your data safe. In celebration of this month of best practices discovery, (ISC)² created a one-stop-shop to find helpful cybersecurity... Read more →