Certifictions Receive National Approval

Students in Oklahoma’s CareerTech information assurance and forensics programs now are able to obtain certifications established by the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).

“Oklahoma’s career and technology education system is the only Career Tech system in the country to be approved to offer the CNSS certifications,” said Sheryl Hale, state coordinator of Adult Career and Development for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. “We completed a rigorous process of mapping the CareerTech Information Assurance and Forensics Certificate curriculum to hree CNSS national standards.”

“The CNSS certifications are an integral part of the National Security Agency’s National Information Assurance Education and Training Program,” said Hale. “ These certifications will definitely help our students get important jobs in industry and with federal agencies.”

Technology centers participating in the program are Francis Tuttle, Oklahoma City; Central Tech, Drumright, and Moore Norman, Norman. Students will be able to obtain the following certifications: CNSS 4011-Information Systems (INFOSEC) Professionals; CNSS 4012 – Designated Approving Authority (DAA), and CNSS 4013, System Administrators in Information Systems Security (INFOSEC). In the fall three additional technology centers will be participating. They are Great Plains, Lawton; Meridian, Stillwater, and Tulsa Technology Centers.

“This is quite an accomplishment for our CareerTech system,” said Hale. “Only seven two-year institutions in the nation are approved to issue these certifications. Three of these are in Oklahoma and members of the Oklahoma Center for Information Assurance and Forensics Education (OCIAFE) Consortium.

The above technology centers and several Oklahoma colleges are members of the OCIAFE Consortium. They are Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee, Rose State College, Midwest City, Tulsa Community College and the University of Tulsa. The consortium recently was designated as Oklahoma’s first Advanced Technology Education Regional Center and awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help establish cyber security education and workforce development programs at two-year institutions in Oklahoma and neighboring states.

This is the second center for cyber security in the country and the nation’s first in the area of digital forensics, making Oklahoma a national model for cyber security and forensics education.

posted 1/27/05