(ISC)², the non-profit information security professional body responsible for overseeing CISSP, has teamed up with the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) to offer a new professional certification for information security.
According to the announcement, the initiative will “establish a common global understanding of professional knowledge and best practices in the design, implementation and management of cloud computing systems.”
The new credential will build on existing certifications offered by both organizations and examine the depth of technical knowledge required in architecting business systems, based on cloud computing.
“As organizations continue to adopt cloud computing at a rapid pace, there is a strong need to provide a body of knowledge that encompasses the evolving technology and risk landscape and that validates the skills of the professionals tasked with protecting those businesses,” says W. Hord Tipton, CISSP-ISSEP, CAP, CISA, executive director for (ISC)².
“(ISC)² and CSA have each recognized that the global economy’s reliance on cloud services has advanced extremely quickly. Businesses are moving vast amounts of data into the cloud, and consumers are gobbling up new, usually mobile services that emerge on a daily basis. It is incumbent upon us to make our collective experience as accessible as possible, and the further development of professional–level recognition is key to achieving this,” said Jim Reavis, co-founder and executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance in a statement.
The new credential and first examinations are scheduled to be available in 2014.
In addition to announcing the certification partnership with (ISC)², the CSA announced a new membership level and working group designed to benefit the rapidly growing needs of cloud computing among small and medium businesses (SMB).