According to State of Cybersecurity 2020, hands-on cybersecurity training, experience and credentials are the top three factors that help a hiring manager determine if a cybersecurity job candidate is qualified. To help individuals prove their qualifications—and help hiring managers quickly identify skilled candidates—ISACA has updated its performance CSX Cybersecurity Practitioner (CSX-P) certification with expanded job tasks that span and test across five key security functions – Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

CSX-P, which has been previously recognized with the SC Award for Best Certification Program, offers hands-on training in real-world scenarios and validates that cybersecurity professionals have advanced technical skills.​ To more effectively reflect the expanding cybersecurity threat landscape, the comprehensive CSX-P certification exam has quadrupled its coverage of critical cybersecurity skill sets, expanding from five tasks to 20. These tasks fall under five key security functions, ensuring a comprehensive, performance-based experience that tests the exam-taker’s ability to solve problems in a simulated environment, including:

• Business and security environment
• Operational security readiness
• Threat detection and evaluation and
• Incident response and recovery

Additionally, the certification exam is now remote proctored, allowing CSX-P exam takers the flexibility to take the exam safely and securely from home. Certification candidates will also be able to receive quick feedback when both preparing for and taking the exam. For those seeking to become CSX-P certified, the CSX Cybersecurity Practitioner Certification Prep Course provides real-time scoring that allows professionals to immediately identify areas in which they need more focus, also allowing cybersecurity professionals to quickly move forward with next steps in their career journey.

“In the midst of COVID-19, cyberthreats are on the rise and the workforce skills gap is only widening,” said Nader Qaimari, ISACA chief learning officer. “Right now, companies and governments need practitioners who can actually demonstrate their skills on the job, not just memorize concepts. Given the critical demand for skilled cybersecurity practitioners, we felt it was important to update and expand the exam, putting exam takers into more real-life scenarios than ever so they can prove they have the skills enterprises need and are capable of handling the biggest and latest threats.”

ISACA also provides additional online training and professional development opportunities for cybersecurity professionals that can be accessed from home, including its Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate, CSX Technical Foundations Certificate and Cybersecurity Audit Certificate, as well as online courses and hands-on cybersecurity labs that cover topics from threat hunting, advanced forensic analysis, HTTP packet analysis, and DDoS detection to name a few.

To learn more about CSX-P, visit www.isaca.org/credentialing/csx-p. More cybersecurity resources can be found at www.isaca.org/training-and-events/cybersecurity.