ISC2 Blog

An Entry-Level Cybersecurity Certification: Why Every Employer Should Want Their Staff to Have One

The Need for Entry-level Cybersecurity Education Is Critical As any employer who has tried to fill a vacant cybersecurity position knows, finding qualified candidates is anything but easy. The cybersecurity workforce would have to expand by 65% to meet global demand, according to (ISC)²'s 2021 Cybersecurity Workforce Study. Employers, therefore, need to keep an open mind when filling those positions by considering candidates with less experience. Once on board, however, new hires can be brought up to speed through education and certification. Even with sparse experience, a cybersecurity professional should be able to demonstrate an acceptable level of proficiency in... Read more →

Igniting Adoption of a Secure Software Development Lifecycle – A Guide for Secure Software Champions

By Cynthia Freeney, CSSLP currently holds the dual role of project manager and security officer. Cynthia's current focus in the security realm is ensuring organizational policies, procedures, processes and security controls are in compliance and will withstand an upcoming SOC 2 Type II audit. There is a consensus among many industry thought-leaders, leaders within small, mid, and major-sized organizations, security researchers, and others regarding the importance of delivering secure solutions and products. An organization's ability to consistently and effectively provide secure products and solutions is predicated on its level of risk awareness, commitment to adopting and auditing processes that promote... Read more →

Catching up with Kaleb Worku, 2020 KnowBe4 Black Americans in Cybersecurity Scholarship Recipient

Kaleb Worku’s record of academic distinction and relevant experience earned him the 2020 KnowBe4 Black Americans in Cybersecurity scholarship and the following year the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service. Today, he is a junior in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity. He is an undergraduate research assistant investigating medical device cybersecurity under the supervision of Dr. Michael Nowatkowski, CISSP and the captain of his school’s computing programming division of the Association for Computing Machinery. We caught up with Kaleb to discuss how earning this scholarship has impacted his journey... Read more →

(ISC)² PULSE SURVEY: LOG4J REMEDIATION EXPOSES REAL-WORLD TOLL OF THE CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE GAP

The disclosure of the Log4j zero-day exploit in December 2021 had a serious impact on the cybersecurity industry. The flaw is found in one of the most commonly used pieces of software, thus, it could potentially impact billions of devices. If left unpatched, attackers could seize complete control of the device, which is cause for alarm. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) threatened to use “its full legal authority to pursue companies that fail to take reasonable steps to protect consumer data from exposure as a result of Log4j, or similar known vulnerabilities in the future.” To better understand the implications of Log4j... Read more →

New Report by U.K. NCSC Highlights the Impact of Diversity on the Cybersecurity Workforce

Cybersecurity is one of many industries lacking diverse perspectives and backgrounds, which are essential for combating the ever-evolving threat landscape. (ISC)² estimates that the Cybersecurity Workforce Gap as of 2021 stands at 2.72 million professionals globally, but women make up roughly 25% of the cybersecurity industry, compared to at least 40% of the global workforce. This imbalance and lack of diversity in the sector was highlighted in the recent report In Their Own Words: Women and People of Color Detail Experiences Working in Cybersecurity. This disparity is also recognized by the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which recently released... Read more →

HOW TO TAKE THE CISSP EXAM ONLINE – REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Registration for the second (ISC)² online proctored CISSP exam pilot program is now open to candidates in the U.S., U.K. and Singapore. Built on results from the association’s first online proctored pilot test in 2021, this pilot program is designed to further assess the viability, and help determine the potential future availability, of online proctoring for (ISC)² certification examinations. The learnings from this pilot program will help us further augment our exam delivery capabilities, ensuring the experience is safe, secure and provides candidates with the best possible opportunity to demonstrate their competence, regardless of the examination delivery method. What’s New... Read more →

Celebrating the Black History of Cybersecurity

In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate and acknowledge black pioneers in computer science and cybersecurity. Without their incredible contributions to technology, the cyberworld in which we live may not have been possible. We encourage you to learn more about these individuals and have included links below to read more. Annie Easley was one of the first black women to be hired by NASA as a ‘human computer’. She specialised in computer programming and alternative energy technologies, providing the technological foundations for some of the most important inventions of the 20th century, including communications, military and weather satellites. Dr.... Read more →

WANT TO SPEAK AT (ISC)² SECURITY CONGRESS 2022? THE CALL FOR SPEAKERS IS NOW OPEN

Want to share your expertise with thousands of your peers at Security Congress? Now’s your chance! (ISC)² has issued a call for speakers for its 12th annual (ISC)² Security Congress conference, a hybrid event taking place on October 10-12, 2022, in Las Vegas and online. After two successful back-to-back virtual conferences, this year’s hybrid event will feature 120+ educational and thought leadership sessions on the hottest cyber topics from a roster of an estimated 150 speakers. In-person and virtual attendees can expect engaging sessions on a variety of emerging and trending topics, including cyber liability, quantum computing, ICS/critical infrastructure, Zero... Read more →

Elevating the Risk Discussion – Quantitative Analytics

By Charlene Deaver-Vazquez, CISSP, CISA. Charlene is the developer of Probabilistic Risk Modeling for Cyber (P-RMOD4Cyber) a framework of mathematical models for quantifying risk. There is a tendency to view the effectiveness of our cybersecurity practice through a single lens – compliance. We apply controls and best practices hardening our systems and continually monitoring our security posture. We implement defense in depth relying on strong perimeter defense and real-time analytics. At this point, we discuss risk in terms of defensive actions, what we’ve done and what we see based on our logs and alerts. What does a typical conversation around... Read more →

Legislation Watch: 2021 State Cybersecurity Roundup and States to Watch in 2022

A Look Back at 2021 In 2021, 45 states and Puerto Rico introduced or considered 301 pieces of legislation dealing with cybersecurity. Of those 45 states, 35 enacted bills pertaining to cybersecurity. Topics covered in adopted state legislation include strengthening security measures for protecting government agencies and resources, cybersecurity training, data, ransomware, resources and the creation of task forces, studies and commissions. North Carolina became the first state to pass a law that would prohibit government entities from paying ransomware demands. Indiana passed legislation that requires reporting for all incidents related to ransomware. Both Connecticut and Utah passed bills that... Read more →

Lasting Impact of the Pandemic – Lessons from the 2021 (ISC)² Workforce Study

Morale among most cybersecurity professionals remains high despite the stressors brought on by the pandemic. 29% of respondents to the (ISC)² 2021 Cybersecurity Workforce Study reported personal morale as above average, with another 26% stating it was excellent. Overall team morale was also found to be high, with 51% of respondents rating it above average, followed by 20% selecting excellent. In the past two years, the majority of employers have implemented work-from-home policies, 94% in 2021. This rapid shift that began as a public health matter has created lasting change that has workers looking to say home permanently and businesses... Read more →

Online CISSP Exam Coming Soon

If you are a CISSP exam candidate interested in taking the exam online, please consider participating in our next online proctor pilot program. Our exams team began working with Pearson VUE to explore online testing solutions, and we were able to pilot online exams for the first time last year. Read more about the February 2021 online proctored exams results. (ISC)² announced this week that the next online CISSP proctor pilot test will open for registration on February 14. Seats for the online exams will be limited and will only include the CISSP CAT exam for candidates in the U.S.,... Read more →

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN CYBERSECURITY? AT JUST $125 THE NEW PILOT EXAM FOR THE (ISC)² ENTRY-LEVEL CERTIFICATION CAN CATAPULT THEIR CAREER FORWARD

In case you missed it, (ISC)² is piloting an entry-level cybersecurity certification exam to help students, young professionals and career changers interested in building a career in cybersecurity receive the education and validation they need on their way to a rewarding career. With a global cybersecurity skills shortage of more than 2.7 million people, this certification plays a critical role in expanding the available talent pool and quickly verifies candidates’ current skills, but more importantly their aptitude for learning on the job. No Experience Required (ISC)² recognizes and supports the growing trend of people entering the cybersecurity workforce without direct... Read more →

Register Today! By Popular Demand, More Entry-Level Cybersecurity Certification Pilot Exam Review Offerings Now Available

(ISC)² has added two additional offerings to our online instructor-led review sessions in support of the new entry-level cybersecurity certification pilot exam. Our recent offering sold out in record time, and these first come, first serve opportunities are expected to do the same. The five domains included in the pilot exam outline are: Security Principles Business Continuity (BC), Disaster Recovery (DR) & Incident Response Concepts Access Controls Concepts Network Security Security Operations The entry-level cybersecurity certification pilot program will play a leading role in expanding the global cybersecurity workforce, creating new career opportunities and qualification pathways for individuals, and helping... Read more →

Security Through Obscurity. It Doesn’t Work.

By Keith Bruce, CISSP and IT Security Compliance Analyst. Keith’s primary focus is on ISO 27001 compliance and team analytics, but also manages vulnerability, policy, penetration testing and client audit review programs, just to name a few. Introduction The internet offers a plethora of information about you and everyone else, whether we like it or not. Our personal information is out there if you know where and how to look for it. Everything is tracked. Everything. All we need to do is dig a little deeper to find more information that may be public, or private for that matter. Default... Read more →

THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER: HOW TO EXPAND THE CYBER WORKFORCE

A recent Forbes article pulled together a list of several cybersecurity stats that underpin the current state of the industry and threat landscape. The stats, which come from various private sector organizations, highlight the dire need for more cybersecurity professionals to keep up with adversarial threats. Some of the most alarming stats include: Cybercriminals can penetrate 93% of company networks (Positive Technologies) Businesses suffered 50% more cyberattack attempts per week in 2021 (CheckPoint Software) The threat of ransomware attacks, data breaches or significant IT outages worries companies even more than business and supply chain disruption, natural disasters or the COVID-19... Read more →