The development of increasingly stringent corporate
governance regulations, ranging from Basel 2 to Sarbanes-Oxley, is
fuelling a growing demand for accredited IT security
experts.
The International Information Systems Security Certification
Consortium (known as (ISC) ²), the professional body for IT
security experts, said that its membership had grown rapidly over
the past two years as governance assumes a higher priority in
businesses worldwide.
The organisation, which developed the Certified Information Systems
Security Professional (CISSP) qualification, considered a "gold
standard" for information security staff in the US, said
regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley are raising the profile of
accreditation in the UK and Europe.
John Colley, (ISC) ² president and head of information security at
the Royal Bank of Scotland, said that over the past six months
increasing numbers of companies were beginning to specify CISSP
qualifications in recruitment advertisements.
"What we are seeing in the US with Sarbanes-Oxley is that the
executives of corporations have to have a means of understanding
risk. Bearing in mind that Sarbanes can put directors into prison,
they want to make sure they have sound processes and people in
place," Colley said.
The organisation, which has begun a campaign to highlight the
advantages of employing accredited security staff in Europe, claims
that CISSP provides businesses with a quality benchmark for
recruiting security professionals.
"If I am recruiting someone, if they have a CISSP, there are a lot
of questions I don't need to ask them," said Colley.
The number of CISSP-qualified professionals in the UK has grown
over the past two years from a few hundred to over 1,000, and is
increasing at the rate of 25 a month, said Colley. Worldwide, there
are 25,000 certified professionals.
US research suggests that the body's members, who have to keep
their skills up to date each year to keep their CISSP
qualifications, can earn salaries more than £2,750 higher than
non-accredited security staff, and in some cases £5,500 greater.