CompTIA CSA+ Approved by U.S. Department of Defense

On October 17, 2017, CompTIA announced that it is adding another of its IT certifications to the select group that are formally aligned with the United States Department of Defense (DoD), via that organization's Approved 8570 Baseline Certifications list.

Given the variety of CompTIA certifications so designated, CompTIA-certified individuals qualify for a large number of DoD job roles. You can see which ones in the following table, which correlates the complete collection of such certs with specific job roles recognized within the DoD itself, and for its civilian and contract workers.

Image courtesy of United States Department of Defense

The CSA+ shows up within the following blocks:

IAT Level II: Information Assurance Technical Staff, Level 2 (II), provides day-to-day security administration, management, and maintenance, usually within the context of overall systems management and monitoring job roles within some specific organization or organizational unit.

CSSP Analyst: CyberSecurity Service Provider Analyst provides ongoing security policy examination, analysis, upkeep and support for those directly responsible at Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Management (IAM) positions. Serves as a professional security backstop and in-depth security resource across organizational units and boundaries.

CSSP Infrastructure Responder: provides ongoing security infrastructure design, implementation, maintenance and upkeep support to IAT and IAM personnel. Serves as a professional security infrastructure backup and in-depth resource across organizational units and boundaries.

CSSP Incident Responder: provides incident response support whenever a security incident is declared and incident response gets underway. Serves as a professional security incident responder and in-depth incident response resource across organizational units and boundaries.

CSSP Auditor: performs scheduled periodic and post-incident security audits, and provides security remediation and mitigation advice to other CSSPs and Information Assurance rank and management staff. Servers as a professional security backup and an in-depth resource across organizational units and boundaries.

Thus, the CSA+ applies to mid-range base level Information Assurance technical job roles, and across the entire Security Service Provider spectrum outside management roles. That makes this a terrific certification for those who intend to work within the 8570 Framework, and who plan to grow through its defined progression of job roles into the Security Service Provider hierarchy.

CompTIA is assembling a compelling collection of 8570 approved — and ISO/IEC 17024 compliant — certifications for those interested in cyber securitycareers. This collection already covers nearly every cell in the preceding 8570 table, excluding only IAM Level III, IASAE Level III, and CSSP Manager. That makes these CompTIA certifications a safe and smart bet for those who wish to work in this marketplace.