UK Cyber Security Council launches chartered status partnership for Security Testing

The UK Cyber Security Council has announced the launch of the Security Testing partnership, the next phase in its work to introduce a universally recognised professional standard across the UK cybersecurity sector to provide professionals the opportunity to achieve chartered status. The new scheme follows the launch of the Council’s inaugural pilots in Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management and Secure System Architecture and Design last year.

International, not-for-profit membership body industry CREST and training assessment provider The Cyber Scheme will work with the Council to deliver the new pilot across a total of 16 specialisms. The ultimate goal is to provide all cybersecurity practitioners the means to be recognised at either Associate, Principal, or Chartered level once all pilots are concluded.

Chartered status to provide clarity, transparency across the UK cybersecurity sector

Commenting on the launch of the latest scheme, UK Cyber Security Council CEO, Professor Simon Hepburn, said the Council remains committed to delivering a professional standard which will provide the clarity and transparency the sector needs to attract new entrants, help existing practitioners progress in their careers, and empower businesses to fulfil their own cybersecurity requirements. “The launch of our new Security Testing programme is an important step towards that goal. As we look to the year ahead, we are keen to ensure we maintain momentum and continue to pilot our chartered model across the industry’s 16 recognised specialisms,” he added.

Achieving Associate, Principal, or Chartered status against the Council’s professional standard will provide practitioners with an independent seal of approval, with their status recorded on a secure register of practitioners, the Council stated.

“This work will be leading the way internationally in establishing a baseline for generations to come as to what being a cybersecurity professional means,” said CREST CEO Nick Benson. “We know that this means listening, collaborating and learning, something all parties are committed to so that the sector really benefits from this innovation.”

Cyber practitioners who wish to register their interest in the Security Testing pilot can do so by contacting either CREST or The Cyber Scheme directly.

Chartered status could be powerful for UK cybersecurity industry

Speaking to CSO in October last year, UK security experts said that a chartered professional status could be powerful and establish the UK as a global centre of cybersecurity excellence – if it is kept relevant and maintained. “This scheme is set to bring cybersecurity in line with other already very established professions, which is exactly what is needed for not only the industry but for all companies and organisations in the country,” Jake Moore, Global Cyber Security Advisor at ESET, told CSO. “If this is done well, it could be the start of something very powerful, but the only downside could be the potential that it won’t be kept fully up to date as time goes on.”

Paul Watts, distinguished analyst at the Information Security Forum (ISF), welcomed the Council’s ambitions to create more clarity around career pathways into and across the UK’s cybersecurity landscape. “Harmonisation is long overdue; clear abstraction of the skills, experience, qualifications, and knowledge required for each specialism will provide much-needed clarity for practitioners to plan their future careers in a structured way and will allow learning and development entities to ensure they are aligned to a common competency framework, providing the best possible outcomes for their students and setting them up for future success.”