The International Information Systems Security Consortium (ISC2) has signed a five-year contract with the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Directorate (IAD) to develop and administer a new Information Systems Security Engineering Professional (ISSEP) certification.
The new certification will serve as an extension of the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), offered by ISC2 for information security professionals with four years cumulative work experience in the field.
Persons interested in taking the ISSEP exam will be required to already hold a CISSP credential. The certification is designed to recognize mastery of an international standard for information security professionals and their understanding of the 10 domains of the ISC2 Common Body of Knowledge in forming security policies, standards and procedures.
NSA will provide the subject matter experts to develop the ISSEP examination. ISC2 will manage the additional domains and exam material for the extension. The new domains of the ISSEP will focus on the technical knowledge required of government information systems security engineers such as ISSE processes and government regulations.
The ISSEP complements the CISSP by addressing the systems engineering side of information security. As with the CISSP, the substance of the domains studied will be updated with the constantly changing field of information security.
“The U.S. government has a unique set of standards for information security,” said Patricia L. Moreno, chief of staff for NSA’s Information Assurance Directorate. “We believe (ISC2’s longtime international expertise in professional certification best suits our training needs within NSA.”