Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

EC-Council’s CCISO Program has certified leading information security professionals around the world. A core group of high-level information security executives, the CCISO Advisory Board, contributed by forming the foundation of the program and outlining the content that would be covered by the exam, body of knowledge, and training. Some members of the Board contributed as authors, others as exam writers, others as quality assurance checks, and still others as trainers. Each segment of the program was developed with the aspiring CISO in mind and looks to transfer the knowledge of seasoned professionals to the next generation in the areas that are most critical in the development and maintenance of a successful information security program.

The Certified CISO (CCISO) program is the first of its kind training and certification program aimed at producing top-level information security executives. The CCISO does not focus solely on technical knowledge but on the application of information security management principles from an executive management point of view. The program was developed by sitting CISOs for current and aspiring CISOs.

Why should you consider the CCISO program?

The CCISO Certification is an industry-leading program that recognizes the real-world experience necessary to succeed at the highest executive levels of information security.

Bringing together all the components required for a C-Level positions, the CCISO program combines audit management, governance, IS controls, human capital management, strategic program development, and the financial expertise vital to leading a highly successful IS program. Material in the CCISO Program assumes a high-level understanding of technical topics and doesn’t spend much time on strictly technical information, but rather on the application of technical knowledge to an information security executive’s day-to-day work. The CCISO aims to bridge the gap between the executive management knowledge that CISOs need and the technical knowledge that many aspiring CISOs have. This can be a crucial gap as a practitioner endeavors to move from mid-management to upper, executive management roles. Much of this is traditionally learned as on the job training, but the CCISO Training Program can be the key to a successful transition to the highest ranks of information security management.

CCISO Domain Details

Domain 1

Governance, Risk, Compliance

Domain 2

Information Security Controls and Audit Management

Domain 3

Security Program Management & Operations

Domain 4

Information Security Core Competencies

Domain 5 

Strategic Planning, Finance, Procurement, and Third-Party Management

Source: eccouncil.org

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What is an Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)?

EC-Council’s CCISO Program has certified leading information security professionals around the world. A core group of high-level information security executives, the CCISO Advisory Board, contributed by forming the foundation of the program and outlining the content that would be covered by the exam, body of knowledge, and training. Some members of the Board contributed as authors, others as exam writers, others as quality assurance checks, and still others as trainers. Each segment of the program was developed with the aspiring CISO in mind and looks to transfer the knowledge of seasoned professionals to the next generation in the areas that are most critical in the development and maintenance of a successful information security program.

The Certified CISO (CCISO) program is the first of its kind training and certification program aimed at producing top-level information security executives. The CCISO does not focus solely on technical knowledge but on the application of information security management principles from an executive management point of view. The program was developed by sitting CISOs for current and aspiring CISOs.

In order to sit for the CCISO exam and earn the certification, candidates must meet the basic CCISO requirements. Candidates who do not yet meet the CCISO requirements but are interested in information security management can pursue the EC-Council Information Security Management (EISM) certification.

What is the role of a certified Chief Information Security Officer(CISO)?

The CISO position emerged worldwide as a designation of executive leaders who can address the emerging threats to information security by developing and maintaining a tough information security strategy. CISOs – with the experience, leadership, communication skills and innovative strengths are born to resolve the ever-growing information security threats. The CISO of tomorrow will play a vital role in creating effective and efficient processes and will lead a team of technically skilled professionals to defend the core interests of their organization.

Become a Chief Information Security Officer

Today’s world is one of constant and instant information exchange. Organizations, be it private businesses or government bodies, rely on sophisticated computer databases and networks to share digital information on a daily basis with their subsidiaries, branches, partners, clients, employees, and other stakeholders. However, years of information security incidences and the onslaught of the recent cyber-attacks prove that digital data can be easily compromised. Organizations therefore, are increasingly in need of a new set of skills and processes to ensure the security of information at a scale that will be required tomorrow.

If your aspiration is to have the highest regarded title within the information security profession – CISO, if you already have earned the role of a CISO, or if you are currently playing the role of a CISO in your organization without the official title, the CISO designation is the recognition of your knowledge and achievements that will award you with professional acknowledgement and propel your career.

Achieving the CCISO Certification will differentiate you from others in the competitive ranks of senior Information Security Professionals. CCISO will provide your employers with the assurance that as a CCISO executive leader, you possess the proven knowledge and experience to plan and oversee Information Security for the entire corporation.

Certification Target Audience

CCISOs are certified in the knowledge of and experience in the following CISO Domains:

◉ Governance (Policy, Legal & Compliance)

◉ IS Management Controls and Auditing Management (Projects, Technology & Operations).

◉ Management – Projects and Operations

◉ Information Security Core Competencies.

◉ Strategic Planning & Finance

Clause: Age Requirements and Policies Concerning Minors

The age requirement for attending the training or attempting the exam is restricted to any candidate that is at least 18 years old.

If the candidate is under the age of 18, they are not eligible to attend the official training or eligible to attempt the certification exam unless they provide the accredited training center/EC-Council a written consent of their parent/legal guardian and a supporting letter from their institution of higher learning. Only applicants from nationally accredited institution of higher learning shall be considered.

Passing Criteria:

In order to maintain the high integrity of our certifications exams, EC-Council Exams are provided in multiple forms (I.e. different question banks). Each form is carefully analyzed through beta testing with an appropriate sample group under the purview of a committee of subject matter experts that ensure that each of our exams not only have academic rigor but also have "real world" applicability. We also have a process to determine the difficulty rating of each question . The individual rating then contributes to an overall "Cut Score" for each exam form. To ensure each form has equal assessment standards, cut scores are set on a "per exam form" basis. Depending on which exam form is challenged, cut scores can range from 60% to 85%.

Source: cert.eccouncil.org

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The Ultimate Guide to a Cybersecurity Audit: An Essential for Your Success

With the evolution in technology and constant development, there have been discoveries, advanced technologies being used regularly. This has also led to a rise in cyberattacks. The perpetrator has adopted various methods to infiltrate the new and updated applications, databases, etc., which raises significant concerns for the application’s security to maintain confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. Organizations store the data on the system, which undergoes regular updates. At times, few vulnerabilities may be present with the new version of an application after an update, giving the attacker infiltrate the system. Therefore, a system to monitor and verify these aspects is required. Security audits are the systematic evaluation or analysis of the security aspects of the organization’s data/information based on various sets of conditions and criteria.

What Is A Security Audit and How Is It Performed?

A cybersecurity audit is the systematic evaluation of the organization’s security policies and determining the accuracy and how well it matches the established standards and guidelines. Security audits have become an integral part of the organization’s assessments. They are performed on the information security level of the organization. The audit is performed on three broadly classified aspects which are technical, physical, and administrative.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES)

Security audits are very crucial to the organization as they expose all the vulnerabilities and security strategies. They help identify and recognize insider threats, vulnerabilities, and help in being ahead of security breaches, cyber threats, and cyberattacks, which affect the organization’s security, reputation, and financial conditions.

The security audit follows a particular pattern/workflow:

1. Defining the assessment criteria

It is essential to determine the objectives which need to be addressed. This gives a clear outlook on the problems which need to be addressed quickly and provides insight into the current situation. Identify the prevailing threats and outline the possible risks caused by the threat and other vulnerabilities. Define the audit procedure and methods and methods to track the audit procedure.

2. Evaluating current security policies and methods

Reflect on the current security situation and narrow down the security perimeter and the current threats, vulnerabilities, and risks that affect the overall security. Analyze and conclude what is lacking and how to fix it to strengthen the security policies and procedures.

3. Preparing the security audit

The next step is to prepare the security audit plan. Prioritize the area which needs at most importance to be resolved or upgraded. Organize and select the tools which are required to perform the audit. Imply methodologies to collect and preserve accurate and correct data to proceed with the audit based on the acquired data.

4. Conducting the security audit

Once the required tools are finalized, the audit can be performed. While performing the audit, it is essential to provide the appropriate documents and constantly perform due diligence. Monitor the audit accurately and document it for future use. Use the data collected and previous audit records to understand and check for the various factors that affect the organization’s IT security, resulting in differences and multiple factors.

5. Completion and the final result of the audit

Once the auditing procedure is completed, document it, prepare a list of the actions that need to be taken based on the audit, and resolve the changes to remediate the organization’s security. On completion, share the detailed results with the respective authorities.

Why Is a Security Audit Important and Necessary?

A security audit helps evaluate the security status, and regular audits help recognize new threats and vulnerabilities, which allows the organization to understand its security policies and guidelines. Some organizations make it mandatory to imply security audits, as it complies with legal aspects as well. Security audits are done regularly to identify and resolve security issues.

With the constant development and updating of the applications, new hardware and software are added, creating new security endpoints – potentially leading to new vulnerabilities and threats. It is crucial to perform audits regularly to prevent any risks from happening. A security audit is essential and beneficial to an organization. It helps in:

• Analyzing the current security practices of the organization and verifying if they are apt or not.
• Monitoring the training procedure ensuring that the audit is conducted.
• Vulnerabilities and possible threats are discovered which were caused by new technology, application, or a process.
• It helps assure that the organization is compliant with the security regulations (HIPPA, SHIELD, CCPA, etc.).
• Protects the resources of the organization.
• Identifies security vulnerabilities.
• Prepares the organization for a potential security breach or cyberattack.
• Up-to-date about the latest security measures required for the organization.
• Responsible for framing new security policies based on the auditing results.

Types of Security Audits

Security audits can be classified under three categories:

1. One-Time-Assessment:

Security audits that are performed for ad-hoc applications or exceptional situations, resulting in a change of the current operational flow. For example, an addition of new software or hardware needs to be tested and audited for potential risks and threats to ensure the security of the resources related to it.

2. Tollgate Assessment:

Security audits resulting in binary outputs are known as tollgate assessments. It’s a yes or no audit that helps in determining if a new process can be incorporated or not. The audit ensures that it can be included if the process is secure; else, it discards, giving no room for risks and threats.

3. Portfolio Assessment:

Security audits which are bi-annual or annual, are known as Portfolio Assessments. They are done at regular intervals depending upon the organization’s security practices. This helps to ensure that the security standards are maintained, and security procedures are being followed and maintained appropriately.

Tips on Good Security Audit Analysis

Assessing and preparing security audits can be confusing, and sometimes, certain things can be overlooked. It is essential to know what a security audit consists of. Preparing a checklist can help to form a security audit strategy based on crucial factors which should be considered. The following is an essential checklist that you can follow:

• Record and document the entire audit procedure, including who will be performing the audit and what is being audited.
• Document the current security policy, which can be used as a reference to understand where the problem was and to compare the before and after statistics.
• Evaluate the existing security measures that have been taken and if they are being followed to maintain security.
• Update security patches regularly to avoid risks that can take place due to vulnerabilities and bugs in the older versions.
• Ensure that there are no gaps in the firewalls, which can lead to potential risk.
• Ensure that data access is done according to segregation of duties and least privilege and need-to-know principles.
• Incorporate the best encryption practices to ensure integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity of the data and resources.
• Verify the wireless security policies and incorporate standard security policies for wireless networks.
• Scan network and access points/ports at regular intervals to ensure the authenticity of every connection and data transmitted.
• Record and review the event logs to identify any unauthorized activity.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Is Compliance Training? Does It Really Matter?

How often have you heard the term compliance training and thought of it as something that only the legal team should worry about? We are here to bust that myth!

As we slowly start to engage in a post-COVID world, company leaders are moving their focus to sustainability, which is where compliance comes in. Corporate compliance training programs are designed to help companies steer clear from unethical practices that might result in financial loss or reputational harm. Such types of compliance certifications equip employees and stakeholders with the skills and knowledge they need to ensure that corporate behavior and culture is maintained.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

This article will talk about what compliance training for employees is, why it’s important, and how to ensure that it’s implemented in your organization.

Compliance Training Defined

Compliance training is the process of educating and creating awareness among employees about the rules and regulations, company norms, and policies that one needs to abide by in their day-to-day responsibilities.

Purpose of Compliance Training

The main purpose of training employees about compliance is to make them aware of the laws and regulations applicable to their job function or industry.

Compliance training ensures that the employees are on the right side of the law. As an organization, it enables a well-respected reputation in public, prevents poor conduct, and ensures proper governance. This helps minimize risk and provides a better environment for employees to work.

How Does Corporate Compliance Differ from Regulatory Compliance?

Regulatory compliance means abiding by the law, legal mandates, and legislation laid down by governing bodies.

Corporate compliance, on the other hand, refers to the company’s own compliance structure, which it ensures is followed by every employee in the organization.

How Does Compliance Training Help?

The benefits of conducting compliance training are:

1. Understanding employee engagement by creating employee awareness: Employees who understand and are well-informed about the organization’s compliance are the most trustworthy and reliable. In the long run, they become leaders in the organization.

2. Helps define organizational policies & goals: All organization needs to have set goals and policies for its success.

3. Risk of non-compliance reduces: When compliances are set by the organization and all employees are trained on it, the chances of non-compliance reduce. Employees are aware of how a task or a job is to be done.

4. Safer working environment: A good compliance system nurtures a positive culture in establishing organizational values. They must be simple, effective, and well communicated so that employees feel aligned with those organizational values.

Why Is Compliance Training Important?

Compliance training, both online or at the workplace, is important for protecting the company over the long term. They are the best practices for an organization to follow. As compliance update requirements change with time, businesses ensure that they are compliant with regulations before they come into effect.

Good content in compliance training creates awareness among employees and encourages a positive work culture.

Essential Elements of Compliance Training

The four main elements of compliance training are:

1. A well-informed and trained leadership team is an essential requirement before implementing compliance training. A good leader who has complete knowledge of all company policies and laws can train their team members in it. This will also reduce risk and create a positive reputation.

2. It provides correct and complete information. Compliance training should provide not only the regulations within the organization but also as per law. These should be up to date with time as per changes in the regulations.

3. There should be a proper handbook or online content which anyone can easily access when required.

4. It is very important to monitor and analyze the training material. There should be a mechanism to measure the performance and adaptation of the employees.

8 Types of Compliance Training

Get Trained in Compliance Today

Many leading security professionals have got certified under EC-Council’s Certified CISO (CCISO) Program. The CCISO program was designed by present CISOs for aspiring CISOs. It provides a training and certification program for top-level information security executives.

The program doesn’t just focus on technical knowledge but also on the implementation of information security management principles. It covers governance and risk management, information security controls, compliance and audit management, security program management and operations, information security core competencies, strategic planning, finance, procurement, and vendor management.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Business Information Security Officer (BISO) – All You Need to Know

What Is a Business Information Security Officer (BISO)?

A Business Information Security Officer (BISO) is a senior security leader assigned to lead a group or business unit’s security policy. He/she offers a bridge between centralized security functions and business operations. The Business Information Security Officer works as a CISO’s deputy in the organizational hierarchy, specializing in business-related information management problems, such as how to incorporate customer-centric technologies safely to protect customer information.

Also Read: EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

The main aim of a BISO is to guarantee that, like any other business necessity, the business unit or division knows that information management is a business requirement.

Role of the Business Information Security Officer (BISO)

In certain organizations, BISOs are called upon not only to report the state of security of the company to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) but also to the Executive Committee (EC) and the Board of Directors. Therefore, BISOs must have a good strategy for evaluating enhancement and ensuring that potential targets are defined and monitored.

He/she works very closely with the CISO and executives to ensure that corporate protection priorities are viewed as a critical business criterion. BISOs make sure that these targets are fulfilled with policies and methods designed to better suit the division’s particular inner workings. This also involves linking security measures to regulatory, audit, and enforcement standards.

One of the main functions of a Business Information Security Officer is to formulate strategies to make information security an essential business requirement. A company’s corporate considerations and information management obligations can no longer walk on different paths. Hence, being on the same page is the call of the hour, just like any other business necessity within an enterprise.

Why Do Organizations Have BISOs?

Getting a senior security expert loyal to the business unit provides a single owner for the security policy of the division. BISOs usually own and drive systems such as vulnerability detection, enforcement, and device protection. In addition, BISOs acts as a consulting resource on security-related problems for technology and production teams. All of this helps to establish trust within the business unit for protection and to develop an environment that understands that security is the responsibility of everyone.

The relaying of security specifications to the team responsible for customer-facing goods and services is a crucial task for BISOs. Product creators today need to build secure products more than ever without losing the usability that appeals to consumers. This implies working more to make concessions and to create the right product.

In recent years, the role of a CISO has become extremely important, demanding greater focus as work shifts to the cloud — but there is only so much one CISO alone can do. This is where a Business Information Security Officer steps in. As expected, this expansion of leadership and management positions in cybersecurity is more common in larger organizations that have the capital to invest in developing and constructing new teams. Usually, the BISO reports to the CISO. The position of the latter was once a solely technological one, but strategic and market thought must now be accounted for.

Qualities of a BISO

The important characteristics of a BISOs are quite like those of a CISO. These are the four main qualities a good Business Information Security Officer should possess:

1. Comprehensive security knowledge

A Business Information Security Officer should possess a great deal of proficiency in the technological aspects of cyber defense, as you would naturally expect from a security chief. The perfect individual has a wide spectrum of expertise in different fields. However, it is always helpful to find someone with more cybersecurity-oriented experience in core technical technologies, based on the reach and make-up of the business unit. For example, if the BISO is heading a department that is undertaking a concentrated cloud transition, he/she should have specialized experience in native cloud technologies.

2. Executive level integration

Since the BISO coordinates the security initiatives and policies within the division or the corporation at large, the leadership framework must be a shared responsibility. It is a vital skill set to efficiently communicate the risk and security status of the company to the management and the Board of Directors. This implies going above the technological ramifications and thinking instead in terms of the company’s priorities and threats that are affected.

3. Influencing the leadership

Although BISOs usually operate across the hierarchy of business leadership, this does not mean that they function in a position of power and authority over the technology and business groups they will deal with. BISOs serves as the interface between the organization and the role of corporate protection. They must also be willing, even without formal authority, to successfully influence the organization from within.

Strategic thinking

A good BISO is one who doesn’t get bogged down with the technical details and is able to see the bigger picture. This entails the different aspects of the company’s operational and defense plans to work together. BISOs look at their jobs from a long-term perspective. Specific tactical components and mid-level programs all contribute to the vision in one way or the other.

The Emerging Role of a BISO

The BISO is there to ensure that security measures with a business background in mind are enforced. Inside the department, the BISO supports the protection and ties security to market facilitation. BISOs are a critical resource who are likely to be developed within a growing number of organizations.

“If a CISO already exists with the old domains of expertise, a BISO may be needed to strengthen the overall security road map. In some cases, there is a maturity factor to consider, being aware of the speed of change in the digital/tech transformation and to safeguard any information security. The company should be aware and be responsive to this security need and hopefully, there should not be an issue of power as the focus should be the health of the company.”

– Jenny Lundholm, (Director of IT, Halmstad Energi och Mijlo AB)

There is a very strong demand for information security officers who have excellent leadership and communication skills and are skilled with the know-how to run the enterprise, while at the same time explain cyber threats to executives.

Find out more about cybersecurity opportunities for a rising career path with a sneak peek at the services offered by EC-Council. The Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) certification from EC-Council is a market-leading course that identifies the real-world expertise necessary for information management to succeed at the highest executive levels. CCISO features an industry-leading curriculum that recognizes the real-world expertise and experience required to succeed at the top of information security managerial levels.

BISO Salaries and Career Prospects

The BISO, integrating corporate experience with technological expertise, helps strengthen the role of information management regarding the provision of resources and collaboration with the leadership of the regional/business unit. As a BISO, you’ll be tasked with the understanding of key assets and practices, define and analyze threats and controls, and, where applicable, recommend gradual controls or risk reduction techniques.

In this day and age, where risks have become a part and parcel of an organization’s existence, being a certified business information security officer (BISO) opens the doors to a myriad of career opportunities. The median salary range for a BISO currently stands between $100,000 and $169,000 annually.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Tips from a CISO: How to Create a Great Security Program

Developing a security program sometimes feels like trying to solve a 3,000 piece jigsaw puzzle while some people are trying to disturb your focus and the clock is ticking. To make the challenge harder, the big picture you are trying to mirror is constantly changing along the way.

The common challenges of playing the CISO role in an organization go far beyond applying subject matter expertise and require us to apply all leadership, strategy, and communication skills to guide the organizational culture and allow business prosperity. Understanding the business, managing stakeholders’ expectations, and setting the same risk awareness level across the company are just some examples of the challenges that a security executive role needs to address. On the SME role, we usually start with risk assessments and gap analysis, followed by a formal cybersecurity program plan.

No matter how much effort we apply to create the plan, there is always a moment when you realize that the big picture you were mirroring as a target state will not bring the business any value anymore. Business landscape changes such as M&A’s, new competition created from other industries, new tech forces being applied, and internal business strategy changes drive the plan to be reviewed. In addition, there will be new cyber incidents, emerging high risks, new regulation due dates, or a black-swan-like COVID-19 that will lead you to review the security program you just drafted immediately.

How to Develop a Sustainable and Adaptable Security Program?

The first thing is to set up the right foundational pillars. Since we know that changes are a constant in the CISO ecosystem, we should consider it a part of the game plan and set strategies to help detect and respond as early as possible. I propose that security executives focus their strategies on some specific perspectives:

1. Business awareness

Understand the business should not be a one-shot activity but a constant in the CISO job. Understanding business goals, products, services, challenges, and strategies help the security team do their traditional tasks while supporting business objectives. However, it should also allow the CISO to position themselves as a part of the business, enabling the organization to take risk decisions considering the latest picture and whatever makes more sense for the business to prosper.

2. Strategic positioning

Understanding the kind of value the information security program can provide to the business is essential for the buy-in and support of your program. Given the digital business transformation movement, cyber and information security are now starting to be seen as essential business components, which helps the CISO go far beyond sustaining and protection roles, to that of a business developer and enabler. Achieving this maturity level requires that the CISO maintain a strategic mindset.

3. Engagement

The security program should not be a one-person challenge. The department should engage everyone who can contribute to disseminating the security culture across the organization. Defining the strategy together with key stakeholders and leading the business to some of these initiatives helps create buy-in and program effectiveness, besides framing the risk ownership and accountability culture.

4. Build a strong team

Having a challenged, passionate, and skilled team will help the organization drive any technical changes that should be addressed while keeping stakeholders and the entire organization connected to the reviewed strategy. A team with guidance, autonomy, and constant feedback is an essential pillar to the success of the security program on both technical expertise and leading, influencing, and proposing changes to the company. A strong team also represents the needed technical know-how the organization will have to better manage risks.

5. Communication

Leading a security program is much more than defining the right tools, processes, and governance to achieve a specific goal. It is guiding an organizational culture on security aspects. Many times it is to transform a company’s mindset and lead organizational changes. Communication is the key link between giving the right message and listening to what is being communicated. Changes take time and require online interactions to make them sustainable.

Moving the information security discipline beyond the purely technical perspective to be a part of the business demands that CISOs play a business role. This means that mitigating risk will not be the only option and, at the end of the day, the security department should be working not as a company guardian but as one more important business piece that is resilient and adaptable to changes. This way, whatever happens in the business context or the risk landscape, security will continue to play their part to enable the business.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Join the New Generation of Information Security Leaders with CCISO

The Certified CISO -CCISO certification is the first of its kind certification geared towards producing top-notch information security executives. The CCISO does not concentrate only on technical knowledge but the application of information security management principles from an executive management perspective.

To become a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), an individual must have the technical knowledge and must own specific skills such as establishing and maintaining the organization’s strategy and goals. The CCISO certification is designed keeping the aspiring CISO in mind, emphasis on the most important aspects of an information security program.

The Role of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

The CISO is an organization’s information security executive at a senior level, who promotes and maintains an information security policy to address increasing threats in the cyber world in association with a business’ objective. They play an important role in developing and managing a team of technical professionals to secure organizations by reducing cyber-risks, responding to incidents, setting up controls, and establishing and executing policies and procedures.

What Does the CCISO Certification Teach?

This ECCouncil certification focuses on five domains to bring together all the components required for a C-Level position. It incorporates governance, security risk management, controls, audit management, information-security core concepts, security program management and operations, and strategic planning, finance, and vendor management––skills that are vital to leading a highly successful information security program.

Five CCISO Domains

The CCISO Body of Knowledge was written by CISOs for future CISOs and gives in-depth learning of the five domains that are essential for a CISO. These five CCISO domains focus on technical knowledge, as well as information security management principles, from a managerial perspective.

Domain 1: Governance

This domain includes structured planning, aligning information security requirements and business requirements, leadership and management skills in compliance with cybersecurity and organizational laws and acts, evaluating the advanced information security changes, trends and best practices, and report writing.

Domain 2: Security Risk Management, Controls, and Audit Management

This domain focuses on information-security management controls: analyzing, identifying, designing, implementing, and managing information system controls’ process to lessen risks, and test controls and generate detailed reports. It also includes auditing management: understanding the process, applying principles, skills, and techniques, executing and evaluating results, analyze the results, and develop advanced procedures.

Domain 3: Security Program Management & Operations

This domain includes project development, planning, implementation, and budgeting, developing, acquiring, and managing information-security project teams, assigning tasks and training, leading teams, assuring teamwork and communication, assessing the project to assure that it follows with business requirements and delivers optimal system performance, and guaranteeing that changes to the existing information system policies are made in a convenient manner.

Domain 4: Information Security Core Concepts

This fourth domain comprises designing, implementing, and ensuring appropriate plans for access control, phishing attacks, risk management, identity theft, business continuity plans, physical security, disaster recovery, Trojans and malware threats, firewalls, IDS/IPS and network defense systems, wireless security, virus, secure coding best practices and securing web applications, encryption technologies, hardening OS, and computer forensics and incident response.

Domain 5: Strategic Planning, Finance, and Vendor Management

This domain focuses on designing, developing, and maintaining enterprise information-security architecture (EISA), execute external and internal analysis of the organization, design a strategic plan that will empower business growth, receive and maintain resources based on an operational budget, and perceive other business financial requirements.

Who Is It For?

The CCISO is for information security executives leaning toward to be CISOs through sharpening their skills and learning to harmonize information security programs with business goals and objectives. This program also helps existing CISOs to enhance their technical and management skills, as well as business procedures.

• Read: A Complete Guide to EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) Certification

Prerequisite for CCISO Exam

The CCISO is not an entry-level certification. To qualify for the CCISO exam, you must have at least 5 years of prior experience in at least 3 of the 5 CCISO domains.
Applicants who do not satisfy the requirements for the CCISO exam can take the EC-Council Information Security Management (EISM) certification.

CCISO Exam Details

The CCISO exam composed of 150 multiple-choice questions that are administered over 150 minutes. The questions are based on knowledge of the five domains and expect extensive thought and evaluation. The needed score to achieve the CCISO certification is a minimum of 75%. The CCISO exam cost is 999 USD.

Why Should You Earn CCISO Certification?

1. Approved by ANSI

EC-Council has been certified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for its CCISO certification. It is one of the few certification bodies whose main specialization is information security to satisfy the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 Personnel Certification Accreditation standard.

2. Created by the Experts

The CCISO Advisory board is consisting of practicing CISOs who designed the program based on their everyday experiences—based on both technical and management concerns. The board is comprised of security leaders from Amtrak, HP, the City of San Francisco, the Center for Disease Control, Lennar, universities, and consulting organizations who have shared their broad knowledge to outline this certification to meet the lack of Information Security leaders.

3. Focuses on C-Level Management through the Five Domains

By focusing on the CCISO  five domains, EC-Council not only assures that their views line up with those of the NCWF but also fulfill the requirements of businesses and organizations around the world.

4. Bridges the Gap between Technical Knowledge, Executive Management, and Financial Management

The CCISO certification does not focus only on the technical areas required but expands to executive management and financial management, both of which are important to leading a successful information security project. It emphasizes on the application of technical knowledge rather than technical information, which is important to a chief information security officer’s daily responsibilities. Information security managers can advance through the technical ranks but must learn executive-level management, financial management, strategic planning, and organizational skills to reach a C-Level position.

5. Acknowledges the Value of Real-World Experience

To reach a C-Level position, an information security officer need to have prior experience to obtain a holistic idea of what to count on while in the field. With this in mind, the CCISO consists of many real-world experiences faced by current CISOs around the world.

The CCISO exam also challenges applicants to establish a business continuity plan for a company in a given industry and situation, apply metrics to communicate risk for various audiences and explains how to align security policies with the goals of the business––among many other exercises.

Earn CCISO Certification and stay on the race!!

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