| Issuing Body | Nonprofit? | Certification | Specific Training Courses Required? | Certification Requirements Other than Passing Exams | Maintenance requirements | Number of Questions on Certification Exam | Certification Objectives and Subject Areas | Exam Fees | Yearly Maintenance Fees |
| ISACA | Yes | Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) | No | Adherence to code of ethics; 5 degrees or credit can be substituted for a portion of the work experience requirement | 20 CPE credits each year; 120 every 3 years | 200 | Management, planning, and organization of information systems; technical infrastructure and operational practices; protection of information assets; disaster recovery and business continuity; business application system development, acquisition, implementation, and maintenance; business process evaluation and risk management; information systems audit process | $505 | $60 |
| Yes | Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) | No | Adherence to code of ethics; 5 years of professional information systems auditing, control, or security work experience, 3 of those years in management; certain college degrees or credit and certifications can be substituted for a portion of the work experience requirement | 20 CPE credits each year; 120 every 3 years |
200 | Information security governance; risk management; information security program; information security management; response management |
$505 | $60 | |
| (ISC)2 | Yes | Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) | No | Subscribe to the CISSP Code of Ethics; pass criminal background check; 4 years cumulative full-time security professional work experience. Certain college degrees can be substituted for a portion of the work experience requirement | 120 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits every 3 years | 250 | Access control systems and methodology; applications and systems development; business continuity planning; cryptography; law, investigation and ethics; operations security; physical security; security architecture and models; security management practices; telecommunications, network and Internet security | $599 | $85 |
| Yes | Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) | No | Subscribe to the (ISC)2 Code of Ethics; 1 year cumulative work experience in information systems security | 60 CPE credits every 3 years | 125 | Access controls; administration; audit and monitoring; cryptography; data communications; malicious code/malware; risk, response, and recovery | $469 | $65 | |
| CompTIA | Yes | Security+ | No | None | Lifetime certification | 100 | General security concepts; communication security; infrastructure security; basics of cryptography; operational / organizational security | $225 | None |
| Learning Tree | No | Network Security Certified Professional (NSCP) | Yes | Successfully complete three core courses, 1 elective course, and associated exams | None | Not available | Deploying Internet and intranet firewalls; building secure virtual private networks; deploying intrusion detection systems | Free | None |
| Enterprise and Web Security Certified Professional (EWSCP) | Yes | Successfully complete three core courses, 1 elective course, and associated exams. | None | Not available | Implementing Web security; enterprise PKI; network vulnerability assessment | Free | None | ||
| Planet3 Wireless | No | Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) | No | Successfully pass Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) exam prior to taking CWSP exam | Pass most current version of exam within 3 years of certification | 60 | Wireless LAN intrusion; wireless LAN security policy; wireless LAN security solutions | $175 | None |
| Prosoft Training Inc. | No | CIW Security Analyst | No | At least one of the following certifications: MCSE, MCSA, CNE, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, LPI; passing grade on the CIW Security Professional exam | Certification is valid until exam is retired | 60 | Network security and firewalls; OS security; auditing, attacks, and threat analysis | $145 | None |
| SANS Institute | Yes | 13 Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) certifications | No, but exams are more expensive if you don't purchase training | Complete a written practical assignment and pass one to two technical online exams; "Challenge Certification" (i.e., taking exam without training) subject to approval | Pass "refresher" exam every 2 years according to current certification objectives | Not available | Varies with certification | $800 if taken without SANS training | $120 for required refresher exam |
| SCP | No | Security Certified Network Professional (SCNP) | No | Security+ certification or equivalentexperience | Pass updated exam every 2 years | Not available | Hardening the Infrastructure: contingency planning; tools and techniques; security on the Internet and the World Wide Web; router security and ACLs; TCP/IP packet structure and security; OS securityNetwork Defense and Countermeasures: network defense fundamentals; security policy design and implementation; network traffic signatures; VPN concepts and implementation; IDS concepts and implementation; firewall concepts and implementation | $300 for 2 exams | None |
| No | Security Certified Network Architect (SCNA) | No | SCNP certification | None | Not available | The Enterprise Security Implementation: law and legislation; forensics; wireless security; secure email; biometrics; PKI policy and architecture; digital certificates and digital signatures; cryptography; strong authentication The Solution Exam: security scenarios | $360 for 2 exams | None | |
| TruSecure | No | TruSecure ICSA Certified Security Associate (TICSA) | Yes | At least 2 years experience in network security administration or demonstrated attendance in at least 48 hours of approved computer security training or coursework within a 24-month period; attest to a Code of Ethics statement | Certification is valid for 2 years, then 48 hours of approved computer security training or coursework within a 24-month period is required | 70 | Security practices and procedures; security fundamentals; TCP/IP networking fundamentals; firewall management fundamentals; detection, response and recovery Administration and maintenance fundamentals; design and configuration basics; malicious code fundamentals; law, ethics and policy authentication fundamentals; cryptography basics; fundamentals of host-based vs. network-based security; PKI and digital certificates; fundamentals of OS security | $295 | None |