It’s coming! (ISC), the provider of the CISSP (one the most highly-paid IT certifications), has just announced a new credential: The Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP). PearsonVUE testing centers around the world will offer the CCSP exam this summer!
Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), What We Know So far
Partners (ISC.2 and Cloud Security Alliance) announced Tuesday the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), certification at the RSA Conference. (ISC), a leading industry group is the curator of the highly respected CISSP certification for career security professionals. This credential is ideal for Enterprise Architects and Security Administrators, Systems Engineers and Security Consultants, Security Engineers, Security Engineers, Security Engineers, Security Managers and Systems Architects.
A candidate for CCSP must have at least five years of IT experience. At least three of these years should be in IT security and at least one in cloud computing. These domains will be covered by the new CCSP certification exam:
Design Concepts & Design Requirements
Cloud Data Security
Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security
Cloud Application Security
Operation
Legal & Compliance
According to a press release, the CCSP Exam will take 4 hours and consist of 125 multiple-choice questions. Candidates must score 70% or 700 points to pass the CCSP Exam.
The CCSP training courses are also set to launch this summer (June-July). Potential CCSP exam candidates may download the official exam outline at the (ISC.2) website. It provides information on the 6 domains mentioned above and may be helpful for those who want to jumpstart their preparation.
Maintaining the CCSP
The CCSP credential is valid for three years. All holders will need to pay an annual maintenance fee (AMF) of US$100 each year and earn 90 CPEs. A minimum of 30 per year is required. Associates of (ISC.2) who are working towards the CCSP must pay US$35 in AMFs and earn 15 CPEs every year.
CCSP and other (ISC2) credential holders can use CSA’s education, training, research projects and events to keep abreast cloud security best practices and to fulfill their CPE requirements.
How does CCSP compare to CCSK?
Many people are curious about how these certifications compare to other cloud security certificates. It is particularly interesting to compare the new CCSP with CCSK (CSA’s Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge).
The CCSK examination, as (ISC2)2 explains it on its official website tests a broad base of cloud security knowledge. The CCSK knowledge body covers 14 domains and some critical areas such as Security as a Service that are not covered by other credentials. CCSK also covers CSA Cloud Controls Matrix, an industry standard security controls framework that is required for the CSA Security, Trust and Assurance Registry program of cloud provider certification. CCSK is a great indicator of basic cloud security knowledge that can be used in almost any IT job. Employers can ensure that their teams are better prepared to deal with the ever-present cloud computing issues by using the CCSK certification program.
The CCSP credential expands upon many of the areas covered in CCSK to provide more knowledge derived from practical information security and cloud computing experience. It validates the practical knowledge that professionals who have daily responsibilities in cloud security can use.
