Security Certification Rules Could Shake up IT Management

Will new requirements for professional security certification change the way both government and industry recruit, train and manage their IT staffs? A new report says it might.

In an article on the Government Computer News website, William Jackson says the new requirements, currently being readied by the Office of Management and Budget, will require certification for IT workers in civilian agencies. Some experts are saying the move will affect the entire profession.

 “They are going to affect every one of us in the field,” George Datesman, a senior manager at Noblis Inc., told Jackson. Datesman made the remarks at a Digital Government Institute conference on cybersecurity last week, adding that OMB is finalizing minimum requirements for professional certification. He had no time frame for their release.

“Datesman likened situation to the law-enforcement field, which still is sorting out how to fully implement requirements for increased professional training and education 30 years after the movement began,” Jackson writes. “Not only would there be new hiring requirements, there also could be increased responsibility and legal liability for workers and their employers.”

The requirement could drive up the cost of recruiting professionals, not only in government but among government contractors, who also would have to meet the requirements in staffing government contracts. Government contract language also would have to change to reflect the requirements.