(ISC)² – nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals – announced that its healthcare security and cloud security certifications have been approved by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as prerequisites of employment for certain security workforce categories.

Following approval by the DoD Senior Information Security Officer and a recommendation by the Cyber Workforce Advisory Group (CWAG) Certification Committee, the HealthCare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (HCISPP) and the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certifications are the latest additions to the DoD 8570 Approved Baseline Certifications table that is publicly available on the DoD Cyber Exchange website.

The HCISPP has been approved for the following categories:

  • Information Assurance Manager Level 1 (IAM 1)
  • IAM Level II (IAM II)

The CCSP has been approved for the following categories:

  • Information Assurance System Architect and Engineer Level III (IASAE III)
  • Information Assurance Technician Level III (IAT III)

These two certifications join the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and six other (ISC)2 certifications as requirements for certain functions within the DoD's security infrastructure. To review all the (ISC)2 certifications that are required for certain levels of DoD Information Assurance roles, please visit: https://www.isc2.org/-/media/876358A408FC4F7A953A12CB918CB8FB.ashx

"The addition of the HCISPP and CCSP certifications to the DoD's requirements for certain cybersecurity roles points to the growing need to protect and defend health information and cloud data from targeted attacks," said Dr. Casey Marks, Chief Qualifications Officer, (ISC)2. "These certifications attest that their holders have broad, experience-based mastery of security concepts in real-world situations. Adding such professionals to the front lines of national cyber defense is an encouraging step by the DoD."

Government agencies have used (ISC)² to train and certify their cybersecurity personnel for more than two decades. (ISC)² offers nine distinct Information Assurance (IA) certifications that meet the requirements for 11 of the 14 work roles defined in DoDD 8140.01 and DoD 8570.01-M. In accordance with these two regulations, personnel performing Information Assurance (IA) functions are obligated to obtain one of the certifications required for their position, category/specialty and level in order to fulfill the IA baseline certification requirement.

For more information on (ISC)² cybersecurity certifications, please visit: https://www.isc2.org/Certifications.