5 Cybersecurity Certifications That Employers Are Looking For

Do you currently, or do you want to, work in the cybersecurity profession?

The industry will be nearly 2 million short of trained cybersecurity professionals by 2022. It's the perfect time to hone those ethical hacking skills.

Do you know which qualifications you need to stay ahead of the game and impress employers?

Here are the 5 most important cybersecurity certifications you should have on your resume.

CompTIA Security+

The CompTIA Security+ is one of the best cybersecurity certifications for beginners. CompTIA is one of the most recognizable associations offering IT certifications for both beginners and more advanced IT professionals.

Security+ is the first certification you should look to get if you're looking to become a cybersecurity professional. It's a great beginner cybersecurity certification path. It gives a very significant grounding in the basics of cybersecurity.

It helps to prepare new cybersecurity professionals to recognize potential threats and respond to crises. It'll also teach you to perform crucial security audits and design secure networks.

Not convinced? Here are 10 reasons why you should study for the CompTIA Security+ certification.

Cisco Certified Network Associate Security

Cybersecurity is all about identifying and responding to vulnerabilities before they're exploited. It also helps to know how to respond to those threats as they occur.

For workers looking for a real grounding in network security, the CCNA Security certification is a must-have.

It's industry recognized and respected. Cisco is the market leader in networking equipment. Full familiarity and experience with their equipment are going to make your resume stand out.

It gives you Department of Defense Directive 8570 clearance. This will allow you to gain work in the most lucrative of public sector roles.

You can also combine it with other Cisco certifications to expand your skills and increase your earning potential. You can switch to other job roles, such as penetration testing if you decide to specialize.

It has similarities to the Security+ certification, geared at working with Cisco equipment. You'll become skilled in risk management, secure network building, and vulnerability testing.

CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP)

Already familiar with CompTIA certifications? Studying for the CompTIA Advanced Security Practioner (CASP) certification would be a sensible step upwards.

CompTIA certifications like Security+ and Network+ are lower-end certifications aimed more at beginners. The CASP isn't, with an expectation that you already have much of the experience already. You need around a decade's worth of IT experience in administration, with at least half of that in an IT security role.

It looks to build upon your existing knowledge and experience, as well as fill in any gaps that could be preventing you from advancing further.

You'll become an expert in analytical research skills. These will help you to manage risk and root out security vulnerabilities in enterprise environments. You're expected to build on your existing experience with the CASP certification.

If you're thinking about more lucrative management opportunities, the CASP certification should help.

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

At the stage of your career when you're looking to progress further into management? The CISM Certified Information Security Manager certification aims to develop your management skills. It's offered by ISACA, another well respected IT body.

You need a minimum of five years in the field of IT security. At least three of these will need to be in some kind of management role in one of the CISM-designated content areas. These are security and risk management, compliance, and program development.

It's not aimed at making you a cybersecurity expert. If you're gaining this certification, you're already qualified in the field. What it's designed to do is develop the skills to make you an expert security manager.

You'll learn what it takes to build effective enterprise policies for security. You will also learn how to analyze the security risk to businesses and organizations.

In a management role, it'll be up to you to decide what steps to take to protect important assets. The CISM certification will give you the confidence to make those decisions.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Thinking about your long-term career options? Cybersecurity certifications salary options are now as high as approximately $400,000. You need certifications that will help give you the chance to compete for these top management jobs.

Becoming a Certified Information Systems Security Professional will put you in contention. The CISSP isn't a short-term qualification. Like the CISM, you'll need full-time experience of around five years to be able to study for it.

What makes the CISSP certification stand out is how well respected it is. It's the oldest security certification for IT professionals. It's regularly updated to meet new standards and challenges.

Studying for the CISSP isn't a quick solution to advance your career. It takes commitment, with several years needed to study and show needed experience.

If you don't have the experience, then it's even more work. You can still take the exam, but need to gain the requisite experience. You will usually have around six years to do this to become CISSP certified.

Don't let the time frame put you off. Obtaining the CISSP certification will put you at the top of your field, even though we list it as one of the 7 hardest cybersecurity certifications.

Don't Miss These Cybersecurity Certifications

With these cybersecurity certifications, graduates and seasoned professionals can advance their careers.

Looking for work with the military? These certificates will help you meet the Department of Defense Directive 8570. This will open up thousands of opportunities for ambitious IT professionals like yourself.

Looking at cybersecurity certifications online? Take a look at whether our live online training courses could meet your needs.

HIPAA Compliance Checklist: Are You Compliant?

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed 477 healthcare breaches. The breaches affected over 5.5 million patient records.

Such incidents are the reasons why the HHS implements stricter rules on companies that deal with protected health information (PHI).

The HHS enforces the rules through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was enacted in 1996. Failure to adhere to the rules can result in substantial fines, civil litigations, and criminal charges.

Keep in mind that these regulations cover health data handling, breach prevention, and breach reporting. They also provide guidelines for notifying patients whenever there's a breach.

Ignoring the HIPAA regulations is a justifiable defense by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR).

So, to help you ensure HIPAA compliance, this post is here to offer the essential checklist.

Keep on reading to learn more.

Understand the HIPAA Rules

Developing an effective compliance program can only be achieved if you understand the rules and their applicability. The rules apply to Covered Entities, including health insurers, health care providers, and health care clearinghouses.

They also apply to all Business Associates that work with these entities. Also, if your business handles or accesses personal health data, HIPAA rules apply to you, too. The four essential rules of the act include:

• HIPAA Privacy Rule
• HIPAA Security Rule
• HIPAA Enforcement Rule
• HIPAA Breach Notification Rule

If your company is a Covered Entity, you need to majorly focus on the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the HIPAA Security Rule, and the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. Software developers who design and create systems for Covered Entities need to pay much attention to the Technical and Physical Safeguards of the Security Rule.

1. Privacy Rule Checklist

The Privacy Rule defines the standards for people who are allowed to have access to PHI. The information can be in oral, paper or electronic form. The rule ensures that patient data is well protected, especially when an entity shares it with their associates.

• You must develop and implement privacy policies and procedures that adhere to the Privacy Rule
• Have a designated official to develop and implement your privacy policy. He or she is the contact person for handling all privacy-related issues
• Train everyone in your entity on your privacy rules and ensure they are aware of the penalties of violations
• Be sure to define the mitigation measures handling mistakes made by your employees or associates
• Ensure you have data safeguards in place to prevent unauthorized use and disclosure of patient data
• You should also have procedures for handling complaints from individuals
• All your records and documents must be stored at least for six years after creating them

This checklist should provide you with the guidance you need to limit the disclosure of PHI. Additionally, avoid policies that bar individuals from exercising their HIPAA rights.

2. Security Rule Checklist

The Security Rule details the standards that Covered Entities must apply to safeguard ePHI. The rules apply to systems and individuals with access to patient data.

Under the Security Rule, there are three essential parts: physical safeguards, technical safeguards, and administrative safeguards.

Technical Safeguards

These safeguards focus on the technology that stores and protects PHI. Even though you can use your preferred technology, it must meet the standards defined by the rule.

These standards include access control, security audit control, integrity, authentification, and transmission security.

• Every user must have unique name or number of easy identification
• Define your procedures for obtaining essential ePHI during emergencies
• Put in place procedures to terminating electronic sessions due to inactivity
• Implement a framework for encrypting and decrypting ePHI
• Always monitor activity ins systems that use or store ePHI

You'll need to work with your IT team and software vendor to ensure the technical safeguards are implemented.

Physical Safeguards

Physical Safeguards are a set of rules that control the physical access to PHI. There are four standards you need to cover, including facility access controls, workstation use, workstation security, and device and media controls.

• Establish procedures for enabling data access and restoration in case of emergencies
• Set security strategies for protecting your facility and its equipment from theft and unauthorized access
• Define methods for controlling a person's access to your facility and systems
• Keep a record of all modifications and repairs of your facility
• Ensure only authorized users to have access to your workstations
• Establish an action plan for disposing of ePHI and storage devices and hardware
• Define the policies for removal of ePHI before it's reused
• Implement systems for tracking movements of electronic media and hardware
• Create procedures for retrieving exact copies of ePHI before moving equipment

Keep in mind that physical safeguards are necessary to deter thieves that want to steal your devices or those who are after your patient data. You must work with your security team to implement the necessary security measures.

Administrative Safeguards

Under the Administrative Safeguards, you'll find all the rules that govern your workforce and ensure HIPAA compliance. These rules typically bring the Security Rule and the Privacy Rule together.

According to these safeguards, you must have a privacy officer, establish employee training, complete annual risk assessments, review your procedures, and execute all agreements.

They focus on several standards, such as security process management, workforce security, assigned security responsibility, information access management, and contingency plan.

Here are things you need to do to meet all the standards:

• Perform a risk analysis to assess the usage and storage of PHI to prevent HIPAA violations
• Establish measures for reducing possible risks
• Define your sanction policies for employees who fail to comply
• Review your system logs and activity to monitor your employees
• Be sure have designated Security and Privacy officers
• Implement procedures for authorizing and supervising employees who have access to PHI
• Ensure PHI is not accessible to unauthorized subcontractors or partner organizations
• Monitor your employee and associate logins to your systems
• Create procedures for detecting and stopping malicious software and files
• Identify, document, and report all security incidents
• Always have backups for your PHI and define the processes for data restoration
• Conduct periodic evaluation to review changes in your business and the law
• Have procedures for protecting your business and PHI in case of a breach
• You must have a contingency plan to ensure critical processes are functioning normally

Working with HIPAA trained employees means they'll be liable for any misconduct or acts of malice. Your facility won't suffer any consequences or fines due to their actions.

3. HIPAA Enforcement Rule

These rules cover the steps and investigations that occur following a breach. They also highlight the potential penalties that covered entities are likely to face. You'll also learn about the typical procedures for hearings.

Fines depend on the number of records exposed during a breach, risk posed by the exposure, and the level of negligence involved. A violation due to ignorance can attract a fine of $100 to $50,000.

The HIPAA has categories for violations, so fines can hit a maximum of $1,500,00 per year for each violation category. Cases that involve willful neglect can lead to criminal charges, which will undoubtedly cost more for your organization.

Victims of the breach can also file civil lawsuits. To avoid fines, criminal charges, and possible lawsuits, you must:

• Prevent unauthorized use and misuse of patient records
• Put protection it place for patient data
• Allow patients to access their records
• Avoid disclosing PHI to third parties more than the minimum
• Establish technological and administrative safeguards for ePHI

This rule also includes the HITECH Act, which was enacted in 2009. The act aims to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.

4. HIPAA Breach Notification Rule

This rule requires covered entities to notify their patients whenever there's a health data breach. It also requires entities to notify the HHS and issue a notice to the media is the breach affected more than 500 patients.

According to section 13402(e)(4) of the HITECH Act, you also need to report small breaches - those that involved fewer than 500 patients - via the OCR breach portal. You should submit these reports after conducting your initial investigation.

In your breach notification or report, you must state:

• The nature of the ePHI that was breached
• The person or organization that accessed or used the ePHI
• Whether the data was viewed or acquired
• The extent of your mitigation to reduce the risk of damage

The HHS requires all entities to make breach notifications without any delay. You have up to 60 days to issue your patients the notification. When sending notifications, be sure to advise patients on the necessary steps they should take to avoid harm or damage.

Also, inform them of what your company is doing to investigate the breach and prevent such breaches in the future.

HIPAA Compliance - The Takeaway

If you're a covered entity, adhering to all HIPAA regulations for patient data protection and handling is critical today. With the increased cases of cyber insecurity, the last thing you want is to face penalties and lawsuits.

Be sure to design a HIPAA risk assessment to suits your business size and type. The assessment should cover the kind of ePHI you handle, possible threats you can face, measures for preventing threats, and procedures for documentation. Such as evaluation is a regular task to ensure continuous HIPAA compliance.

At Alpine Security, we offer cybersecurity training and services to ensure your systems meet the HIPAA requirements. Our HIPAA penetration testing is specifically designed to help you ensure your systems and data are safe from hackers. Our test helps to identify all vulnerabilities before we implement the necessary fixes.

Do you want to talk to us about your PHI system security and training? Just reach out to us via phone or email when you're ready.

Alpine Security Offers Complete EC-Council Penetration Testing Progression

EC-Council Penetration Testing Track

O'Fallon, IL - July 13, 2018 - As an EC-Council Accredited Training Center (ATC) Alpine Security is proud to deliver the highest quality, in-person and remote classroom experience, while also providing private training at client locations. Now, the company is proud to announce they are offering every EC-Council course in the Penetration Testing Progression, including the Certified Network Defender course, the Certified Ethical Hacker course, the EC-Council Certified Security Analyst course, and the Advanced Penetration Testing course, which prepares individuals for the Licensed Penetration Tester (Master) certification.

"We are thrilled to now offer this training and the full EC-Council penetration testing certification track," stated CEO of Alpine Security, Christian Espinosa. "Providing our students with the highest quality training is our goal and by partnering with EC-Council we have been able to leverage the wealth of experience and content had by this organization to provide a superior classroom experience for each student utilizing our services."

In addition to offering the EC-Council courses, Alpine Security also provides students with an exam pass guarantee. After investing in the training or course, students have peace of mind that Alpine Security will provide the necessary information, resources, and skills to ensure they can pass the exam. This ensures they will receive the certification and that they haven't wasted their time.

"The courses we are currently offering, provided by EC-Council, include the EC-Council Certified Security Analyst - ECSA; the Certified Network Defender - CND; the Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator - CHFI; the Certified Ethical Hacker - CEH; the Certified Chief Information Security Officer - CCISO; and Advanced Penetration Testing - APT" continued Espinosa. "We are currently taking enrollments from new students. Ensure you act now before all the spots are taken."

Additional information about the EC-Council's training and courses that are now being offered by Alpine Security can be found by visiting the company's website.

ABOUT ALPINE SECURITY

Owned by a service-disabled veteran, Alpine Security is a small business that is proud to provide hands-on technical training, cybersecurity assessment services and cybersecurity certification that includes digital forensics, audits, incident response, risk assessments and penetration testing. The company believes that it is vital to have both practical and working knowledge of a subject when teaching as a trainer. Each trainer at Alpine Security has practical and real-world experience because they also work as penetration testers, auditors, forensic analysts, incident response handlers and more.

Alpine Security Adds CompTIA PenTest+ Certification Course

O’Fallon, IL - July 8, 2018 - Alpine Security, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business known for providing cybersecurity certification training and expert penetration testing services is proud to announce the latest offering from their company - CompTIA PenTest+ Training.

The PenTest+ is an all-new, vendor-neutral penetration testing certification being offered exclusively by CompTIA. Alpine Security is a CompTIA partner and is in the perfect position to provide training for this course because the company performs penetration testing regularly for clients.

“The PenTest+ is unique because the certification requires a candidate to demonstrate the knowledge and hands-on ability to test devices in different environments, such as mobile and the cloud, as well as more traditional servers and desktops,” stated Christian Espinosa, CEO of Alpine Security. “In addition to providing the training necessary, our team at Alpine Security is also providing customers with an Exam Pass Guarantee.”

The most updated penetration testing technology is being used by CompTIA PenTest+. As a result, those investing in the training receive the management skills and vulnerability assessment skills necessary to determine the resiliency of a network against any incoming attack. The successful candidates taking this training course will develop the intermediate skills, as well as best practices in order to customize assessment frameworks to collaborate and report findings and to communicate recommended strategies to help improve the overall state of the IT security environment.

“We encourage those considering investing in this penetration testing course to read various Training Reviews,” continued Espinosa. This can help them see the benefits of the certification offered by CompTIA and course offered by Alpine Security. We are dedicated to helping those who want to acquire these skills and encourage them to visit our website to sign up right away.”

Additional information about the new training course being offered by Alpine Security can be found by visiting the company’s website.

ABOUT ALPINE SECURITY

Alpine Security is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business providing cybersecurity certification training and cybersecurity assessment services including penetration testing, risk assessments, incident response, audits, and digital forensics. The company believes it is vital to have working, practical knowledge of any subject taught. Each trainer has practical, real-world experience because they also work as penetration testers, incident response handlers, forensic analysts, auditors, etc. The company offers both Live InPerson and Live Online certification training. The courses include the exam voucher and have an exam pass guarantee.