Monday, June 23, 2008

How to become Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) ?

Certified Payment-Card Industry Security Manager (CPISM)

Many of my friends asked me how they can become a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA)? Here is the answer provided by Society of Payment Security Professionals.

The Certified Payment-Card Industry Security Manager (CPISM) is the de facto certification for those within the payment-card industry who want to prove their security and industry knowledge. To prepare for this rigorous exam there are a few documents
available online to assist you.

First there are the CPISM Knowledge Domains.

* Payment card industry structure
* Payment card structure and data
* Payment card transaction processing
* Compromise fraud statistics and trends
* Merchant risk analysis
* Laws and the regulatory environment
* Payment card security programs
* Third party relationships

Check online for the following documents at the
Society of Payment Security Professionals(SPSP):

* CPISM Overview Document
* CPISM Bibliography
* CPISM Study Guide

I am not in a big favour of certifications. I believe in technical experience, skills and knowledge of the individual. But, if you don't have a platform to start with then certification would be the right way to step into that particular domain.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

certifications are valuable even for those with experience in the field since they show a commitment to continued learning in the field and often seperate you from others in a job seeking process. some certs are entry level & meant to help you "break into" a field - simply by studying for it you learn quite a bit. Other certs show advanced knowledge and skills have been sought/obtained.

Anonymous said...

Is CPISM is scrapped? If yes then which other certification has replaced it?