(ISC)² Blog

CCSP Spotlight: Ayman Ouda

Name: Ayman Ouda Title: Senior Consultant / Senior Architect Employer: Telstra / Avirna Education: Bachelor’s in Telecommunications Engineering, Master’s in Information Technology Years in IT: 17+ Years in cybersecurity: 4 Cybersecurity certifications: CCSP and CCSK How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? I decided upon a career in cybersecurity as a normal progression of being a cloud consultant. Working as a cloud architect for the last seven-eight years, I discovered nearly all of our clients express the same two concerns, which are: “How secure is the cloud?” and “If we decide to move, what is the exit strategy?”... Read more →

CloudTweaks: Defending the Organization

Internal compliance and control – the key elements of self-governance – are falling woefully behind the times thanks to traditions that have not yet received a full overhaul. This is bad news for business in the private and public sectors, since the enemies they face have already stepped up to the speed of "now." According to Shrikant Deshpande, senior banking technology, risk and assurance professional and (ISC)² Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP®), there seems to be a gap between Internal Audit, GRC (Governance, risk management, and compliance) and Cybersecurity in terms of formalized methods of defining risks, monitoring and assurance.... Read more →

So What’s New with the New UK Cybersecurity Strategy?

The intent to enforce… something quite significant actually. A first read and review of the news coverage around the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) new Cybersecurity Strategy earlier this month left many believing that there is little to report on cybersecurity from their new government. The initiatives articulated and the funding levels had already been publically discussed throughout the year, while any new intentions expressed in the strategy lacked detail. My initial reaction was disappointment that Teresa May’s government did not see fit to add new funds to the £1.9 billion committed by the previous Chancellor in November last year. Given that... Read more →

ISLA Winner: Jennifer Chermoshnyuk

The 2016 Americas Information Security Leadership Awards (ISLA®) were held in conjunction with (ISC)²’s Security Congress in Orlando, Florida in September. Jennifer Chermoshyuk, paralegal – media and technology practices, legal holds manager at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, WA was named the winner of the Up-and-Coming Information Security Professional Award. Jennifer, an alumna of the University of Washington, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, as well as a certificate in information security and risk management from the university. The title “paralegal” may seem unique for an information security professional, but Jennifer has more than 15... Read more →

(ISC)² Annual Board of Directors Election

The election for new members to the (ISC)² Board of Directors will begin November 16, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. EST (12:00 p.m. UTC). The Board is comprised of 13 (ISC)²-certified information security professionals from around the world representing academia, private organizations and government agencies. The Board provides governance and oversight for the organization, grants certifications to qualified candidates, and enforces adherence to the (ISC)² Code of Ethics. Board members serve as volunteers and represent the membership as a whole. Terms are for three years and they are staggered so that only one-third of the Board members stand for election each... Read more →

CCSP Spotlight: Kevin Jackson

Name: Kevin L. Jackson Title: Founder/CEO Employer: GovCloud Network, LLC Degree: B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Computer Engineering, M.A. National Strategic Studies Years in IT: 25+ Years in cybersecurity: 5 Cybersecurity certifications: CCSP How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? The rapid rise in the adoption of cloud computing by business indicates that cloud is rapidly becoming critical to the nation’s economic stability. With this, cybersecurity in the cloud will essentially be synonymous with national security. As an IT professional and intelligence community professional, it seemed like a natural path. Why did you get your CCSP®? Although cybersecurity was... Read more →

From the Nation's Capital: Addressing the critical demand for cyber pros

This special program, "From the Nation's Capital: Addressing the critical demand for cyber pros," presented by (ISC)² focuses on the many challenges facing the cyber community. Francis Rose explores these issues with Dan Waddell, the managing director for North America for (ISC)². Read more →

Four Tips to Prepare for the CISSP Exam

Rabei Hassan, CISSP-ISSAP, CCSP, shares his tips that can help you prepare for the (ISC)² exams, particularly the CISSP. Hassan is a senior cybersecurity consultant at EY, based in Sydney, Australia. With more than 18 years of experience in various IT fields, he has managed end-to-end implementations for ISMS based on ISO 27001. Hassan has developed information security risk management frameworks for various entities, and has extensive experience with project and program management. 1. Don’t jump to conclusions. Read each question carefully. Think about it, analyse it, and finally, answer it. Even, if it seems to be a simple or... Read more →

(ISC)2 Chapters Informing How We Can Move Forward as a Profession

As (ISC)² prepares to lift a moratorium on establishing new chapters, CEO David Shearer discusses the impact of the program around the world and new developments for the future. What are (ISC)² chapters and what is their impact? (ISC)² chapters are local groups of interested cybersecurity professionals working to support professional development and enhance information and cybersecurity practices. Their work can and often does include serving as a resource to national or local communities with activities that range from advising national incident response centers (CERTs), to volunteers visiting local schools with our Safe and Secure Online program. Chapters are independently... Read more →