Security+ Closes the Gap

In response to the shortage of IT security "foot soldiers" with two to three years of experience, CompTIA (Chicago, IL), a non-profit IT trade association that develops standards and benchmarks, has created with input from its member companies the Security+ certification. The vendor-neutral certification is designed to close the gap between staffing needs and the number of trained and certified professionals available to fill front-line security-related positions. The certification covers the fundamentals of access control, authentication, protection against external attack, a knowledge of operational and organization security policies and the basics of cryptography.

According to Fran Linhart, director of certification, CompTIA, the Security+ certification was developed after association members-which include VeriSign, Microsoft, Novell, US Secret Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation-approached the trade association about the need for IT security professionals with a couple years experience. Typically, within IT security, says Linhart, "you either have a master's degree and are very knowledgeable or you're a kid Novell administrator" with no security experience.

The certification is for IT professionals with two years of computer networking experience. It represents the first global standard of its kind, according to CompTIA.