Information Assurance Certification Coming Soon
1st September 2011, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK... APMG-International is one of the organizations to be awarded the status of Certification Body by CESG to help develop a new certification scheme for professionals working in Information Assurance (IA).
CESG is developing a framework for certifying Information Assurance Specialists who meet competency and skill requirements for specified IA roles. The purpose of certification is to enable better matching between public sector requirements for IA specialists and the competencies of the staff or contractors undertaking common IA roles.
The roles are:
- IA Accreditor
- IA Auditor
- Communications Security Officer/Crypto Custodian
- IT Security Officer/Information Security System Manager/Information Security System Officer
- Security and Information Risk Advisor
- Security Architect
The Certification Scheme managed by APMG will feature three levels for each of these roles. The levels are Practitioner, Senior Practitioner and Lead Practitioner.
Improved IA Skills, knowledge and professionalism are objectives of the National IA Strategy and the Cyber Security Strategy. Certification aims to improve matching between public sector requirements for IA expertise and the competence of those recruited or contracted to provide that expertise.
Chris Ensor, Head of Profession for IA at CESG, said, “This is a major step forward in professionalising key Information Assurance roles needed by the public sector. This is an important development along the path of securing the UK against cyber attack and protecting government and individuals’ data. CESG looks forward to continuing close co-operation with APMG in delivering this IA Certification Service.”
Richard Pharro, APMG, said, “The certification process will give IA specialists the opportunity to have their competence to perform an IA role independently verified. The IA role definitions will also help people plan their professional development. APMG is pleased to be able to support the CESG in this important initiative. We expect our scheme to be fully operational in January 2012 and will be piloting our solution in the last quarter of 2011 APMG has a long history of working with the Office of Government Commerce – now part of The Cabinet Office – to deliver its qualification schemes for project, programme and service management specialists.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with the UK government to CESG, the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance.. The introduction of the Information Assurance certification scheme is timely and appropriate. It is APMG’s mission to help knowledge-based workers prove their knowledge and extend their skills, so we’ll be aiming to set high standards which will become the industry benchmark,” Mr Pharro said.
ENDS
Further information
About CESG
CESG aims to protect and promote the vital interests of the UK by providing advice and assistance on the security of communications and electronic data. CESG delivers information assurance policy, services and advice that government departments need to protect vital information.
www.cesg.gov.uk
About The APM Group
The APM Group is a global business providing accreditation and certification services. Through its international network of Accredited Consultancy and Training Organizations we help end users develop their professional skills and organizations improve their processes through the adoption of worldwide best practice.
The APM Group is the only organization offering professional qualifications in Programme and Project management with third party independent accreditation through the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). We work closely with the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and TSO (The Stationery Office Ltd), their official publisher, in running global accreditation schemes in PRINCE2®, MSP® (Managing Successful Programmes), M_o_R® (Management Of Risk), P3O® and ITIL® (IT Infrastructure Library).
Other partners include The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and the UK's Chartered Management Institute.
For further details about The APM Group’s qualification and accreditation schemes visit: www.apmgroupltd.com or call + 44 (0)1494 452450.
Press contact
Kate Winter
kate.winter@apmgroup.co.uk
