Certification Watch (Vol. 23, No. 25)

Written by GoCertify Staff

Published: 24 June 2020

In this week's roundup of the latest IT certification news, Check Point offers free cybersecurity training courses through Coursera, Certification Magazine considers changes to CompTIA's Security+ exam, and more.

Check Point Offers Free Online Cybersecurity Courses

A frequent refrain in the IT industry trumpets the rapidly increasing need to add more skilled cybersecurity professionals to the global tech workforce. Supply has been falling behind demand for years, and the severity of the problem is deepening as the world around us becomes more and more computerized. As a matter of fact, recent research shows that there are currently more than 4 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs around the world, an increase of more than 1 million open positions just since last year. That information accompanied the announcement earlier this week of a new partnership between cybersecurity hardware and software provider Check Point and online education facilitator Coursera, which delivers educational content to more than 62 million learners worldwide. With the overall aim of recruiting individuals into the information security profession, Check Point will now offer free cybersecurity training classes on Coursera. The initial offering includes the Check Point Jump Start series, which consists of entry-level courses intended to help IT professionals build up their knowledge of cybersecurity.

ISACA Releases Revised Risk IT Framework

How much risk is too much risk? Businesses, organizations, and governments encounter and reevaluate that question on an almost daily basis. And most formulas for estimating risk have grown increasingly complicated with the ongoing integration (as noted in our previous entry) of computers and technology with almost every aspect of life. So there's definitely an element of timeliness to the launch this week by cybersecurity and IT governance association ISACA of a revised and expanded version of its Risk IT Framework. The Risk IT framework, now available in an authorized 2nd Edition, is a publication that offers advice and guidliness for businesses and other organizations that are evaluating technology risk. In concert with the launch of the new guidebook, guest blogger Jack Jones, chairman of the FAIR Institute, took to the ISACA Now Blog this week to discuss his experience both in helping to compile the inaugural Risk IT Framework, and serving as an advance reviewer for the 2nd Edition. As Jones put it, "For those readers who are not already familiar with Risk IT, it is a structured framework that helps organizations to better understand and manage information and technology risk."

CompTIA Answers Your Questions About Online Certification Testing

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic keeping people at home and/or dramatically limiting social interaction in many parts of the world, most certification entities have been racing to provide online certification exams. Tech industry association CompTIA has been among those leading the charge, and a new post this week to the CompTIA blog highlights some of the recent changes and adaptations. Following the old newsroom adage about not burying the lede, CompTIA trumpets the biggest change straight off the bat: online testing is a permanent adjustment to CompTIA's overall process. Going forward, certification candidates will always have the option to take their exam online. Almost as consequential is the second item, which confirms that all CompTIA certifications, from A+ to Server+ are now available for online testing. If you have a CompTIA certification exam coming up, then you'll definitely want to check out all of the other updates as well.