(ISC)² Blog

Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage Projected at 1.8 Million by 2022

The results from the eighth Global Information Security Workforce Study (GISWS) have been released this week. The workforce gap is estimated to be growing, with the projected shortage reaching 1.8 million professionals by 2022. While the gap is not news, the fact that it is growing is of great concern to an already exhausted workforce. The question of how to fill the gap has been answered, and millennials are an integral part of the plan. “For years, we’ve known about the impending shortage of the information security workforce, as evidenced by our study year over year,” said David Shearer, CEO,... Read more →

The (ISC)² Global Information Security Workforce Study is Back!

RSA Conference is less than a week away! The annual information security event will be held at the Moscone Center, February 13-17, in San Francisco, CA. On Thursday, February 16, (ISC)² will release the first in a series of reports from its’ 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study. Focusing on the millennial workforce, a panel session entitled “Empower, Encourage, Recruit: Changing our Approach to Building the Workforce” will take place from 1:30-2:15 p.m. PST in Room 130 in Moscone North. Since its first release in 2004, the bi-annual study gauges the opinions of information security professionals from around the world,... Read more →

2016 Harold F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand and it’s projected to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Part of the mission of the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, (formerly the (ISC)² Foundation), is to provide scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing careers in the field of information security. In 2016, the Center awarded scholarships to 44 students worldwide. The undergraduate recipients were invited to apply for the Harold F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to an aspiring information security student, to help provide a pathway to the profession. The prestigious scholarship was named after the... Read more →

(ISC)² at RSA Conference

In one month, the world will talk security at RSA Conference in San Francisco, CA. The annual information security event will be held at the Moscone Center February 13-17. (ISC)² team members can be found on the exhibit floor in booth S-342. Stop by to pick up a copy of the March/April issue of InfoSecurity Professional magazine, printed exclusively for RSA Conference. We will also have 2017 member pins, CISSP® t-shirts, lightsabers (yes, that’s right) and more. The times and dates of demonstrations at our booth – including Vulnerability Central sessions – can be viewed online. (ISC)² members who register... Read more →

12 Tips for a Safe and Secure Holiday Season

Securing an organization’s data is an around the clock task for cybersecurity professionals. But keeping your family safe and secure is just as important. According to the Children’s Internet Usage Study, 90 percent of children surveyed have either a cell phone, tablet or computer in their bedroom. Beyond games and apps, there are more smart toys than ever that tout connectivity as a feature – but rarely acknowledge the risk. The Center for Cyber Safety and Education has 12 tips to help keep you and your family cyber safe this holiday season: Change default passwords on devices. Disable geotagging on... Read more →

(ISC)² Security Congress EMEA Opened a Window to Our Future

A view from the Conference Chair, Dr. Adrian Davis, CISSP, Managing Director (EMEA) (ISC)² From an examination of how augmented humans will live, work and play, to policy commitments from the Irish government, (ISC)²’s Third Annual Congress EMEA delegates gained a comprehensive view of the changing world to be faced by cybersecurity professionals. The international community of 250 members and information security professionals started to gather the evening before the event for our member reception and Town Hall Q&A. These events presented a well appreciated opportunity to hear from four serving members of our Board of Directors from outside the... Read more →

2016 (ISC)² Security Congress Takeaways

The sixth annual (ISC)2 Security Congress started Sunday evening, September 11, with a Town Hall members-only meeting and reception in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. David Shearer, CEO of (ISC)2, introduced key members of the organization leadership in an interview-style conversation. Among them were Patrick Craven, director of the Center for Cyber Safety and Education [formerly the (ISC)2 Foundation]; Mirtha Collin, senior manager of education; Dr. Casey Marks, director of examinations and customer experience; and Dan Waddell, managing director North America. Steven Hernandez, vice chair of the Board of Directors, was also a member of the panel.... Read more →

From Town Hall to Margaritaville: Security Congress Member Events

The sixth annual (ISC)2 Security Congress is just a few weeks away. The event, colocated with ASIS Seminar and Expo, will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from September 12-14. The annual (ISC)2 Town Hall Meeting will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 11. The member-only meeting will consist of remarks from (ISC)2 CEO, David Shearer, on what to expect at the Congress event, as well as in the coming year for members. As in previous years, members are able to submit questions for (ISC)2 Management and Board of Directors to address. These... Read more →

Center for Cyber Safety and Education Supports Future Female Cybersecurity Leaders with Scholarships

The Center for Cyber Safety and EducationTM has announced the 2016 recipients of its Women’s Cybersecurity Scholarships. The scholarships, totaling US$40,000 in awards, will be provided to seven women from around the world in various levels of study to help them advance their cybersecurity careers. The Center is the nonprofit charitable foundation formed by (ISC)² in 2011 to empower students, parents, teachers and the general public, across all age groups and demographics, to secure their online lives with cybersecurity education and awareness programs. According to the 2015 (ISC)² Global Information Security Workforce Study, women represent only 10 percent of the... Read more →

Study on Grade 4-8 Internet Usage Indicates 40 percent Chat with Strangers

Recently, the Center for Cyber Safety and EducationTM released the results of the Children’s Internet Usage Study. The study contrasted the self-reported online behaviors of U.S. kids in grades 4-8 with their parents’ perceptions of their behavior. The findings were surprising and could be a cause for concern for many parents, as it shows that children are spending more time online, including late into the evenings, than their parents were aware. The children indicated they visit sites they know they are not supposed to, and engage with strangers despite warnings from parents. A few of the survey results are below:... Read more →

Celebrating my 10 years of Safe and Secure Online Service

The 9th February 2016 was International Safer Internet Day when organisations across the world joined together to promote the safe and responsible use of digital technology for children. The day also marked my 10 years of teaching the (ISC)² Foundation’s Safe and Secure Online lessons at schools across the United Kingdom. To celebrate, I visited Robert Bloomfield Academy in the midlands area to speak to over 900, 9-13-year-old students about Internet safety. Robert Bloomfield Academy has consistently been rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted (UK regulators) and specialises in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects, boasting a lot of hi-tech equipment... Read more →

Honing your presentation skills for security awareness

Today on CISSPforum we've been chatting about Death by Powerpoint, the feeling that badly constructed and delivered presentations are not just tedious but counterproductive. Notable examples include eye-candy, wordy slides, cool but distracting infographics and "When we understand that slide, we'll have won the war". This stuff is particularly important in topics as complex and arcane as information security. I’m not sure why PowerPoint is always in the dock, other than the routine M$bashing. It’s just a tool, one of many. It seems to me the problem lies not so much with the tools as with the craftsmen and women... Read more →

Safe and Secure Online Launches in Switzerland on Safer Internet Day

By Julie Peeler A Safe and Secure Online volunteer was asked by a child, “If I tell someone, will it stop?” Just imagine the impact you can have in shaping a child’s life by having the skills to answer a simple question. Through the (ISC)2 Foundation, (ISC)2 members in Switzerland now have the resources and support to help by providing free cyber security education to children, parents, and teachers in their local communities (plus earn CPEs for presenting). To commemorate Safer Internet Day today, 35 Swiss (ISC)2 members have mobilized to launch Safe and Secure Online in Switzerland. The program’s... Read more →