…and the 250,000th winner is: you?

As you sit by your computer, smartphone or tablet reading my latest blog, you may not be aware of a substantial milestone about to occur. CompTIA is set to announce the 250,000th IT professional gaining its Security+ certification.

Wow. This really is a milestone worth celebrating. To mark this achievement, CompTIA and Knowlogy Corporation will award one year of free IT training to the person gaining the quarter of million number accolade.

This landmark achievement has got me thinking about how our industry has changed since Security+ was introduced back in 2002. Also, it’s crossed my mind just how important it will prove to be in the future.

When this certification was introduced, cyber security was a term not many of us knew. Certainly not outside of tech circles, anyway. It was a term and indeed a threat that we as industry had the foresight to plan against. When there’s a new threat on the horizon, it’s always tough to predict how damaging this could be.

At the time, we didn’t have the level of access to the internet that we have today. Just look around you. If you’re at work, on the bus or sneakily tapping away at the cinema, it’s apparent that the internet has become ubiquitous.

We’re now dealing with a very different threat of attack than say five or ten years ago. The term cyber security is everywhere in the media. Just take a moment to reflect; a few years ago the term was only the realm of computer trade magazines and perhaps the serious ‘big’ papers. Now it’s the domain of mainstream breakfast television shows and light-hearted entertainment magazines.

The threat of such attacks is becoming more complex, more sophisticated; it’s no longer one person locked in a dark bedroom with only the glare of the PC monitor screen for company. This new threat is why CompTIA will continue to evolve and innovate its Security+ certification.

Another thought that has sprung into my head today is just how many people we’ve helped become more employable via Security+. This surely is the key strength of its impact to industry. We all know there’s a skills gap and that demand for security skills is set to increase. By setting a high standard in this field, I feel CompTIA is helping worldwide economies by developing security professionals across all avenues of employment.

So there you have it. A milestone worth celebrating whilst looking ahead to 500,000 trained under Security+ in the future. Good luck to those about to sit Security+. If you’re not the lucky winner, rest assured your career will be more rewarding and prosperous once you get yourself certified.