SCIPP International to Provide Security Awareness Materials to NSA/DHS Centers of...

SCIPP International to Provide Security Awareness Materials to NSA/DHS Centers of Academic Excellence Coalition

Partnership to Promote Information Security Awareness in Higher
Education Based on International Standards and Guidelines
VIENNA, Va.--(Business Wire)--
SCIPP International, a global non-profit organization dedicated to
providing world-class security awareness training and certification
services, has joined forces with the International Cyber Security
Education Coalition (ICSEC) to provide security awareness materials
for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) Centers of Academic Excellence in Information
Assurance Education (CAEIAE) universities and other schools.

ICSEC is a consortium of academic institutions based in Michigan
whose purpose is to provide unified leadership for information
assurance education and research initiatives in both the public and
private sector. ICSEC schools include University of Detroit Mercy and
Regis University in Denver - each a national Center of Academic
Excellence - and several Michigan and Ohio-based community colleges as
well as London Southbank University in the UK. The University of
Toledo and Eastern Michigan University are also members of ICSEC and
both are awaiting designation as National Centers of Excellence.

Jointly sponsored by NSA and DHS, the mission of the CAEIAE is to
reduce vulnerability in U.S. national information infrastructure by
promoting higher education in information assurance.

A SCIPP Certificate of Security Awareness will be issued to each
student from an ICSEC school who participates in the SCIPP course and
successfully passes the SCIPP post-assessment. Also under development
is a "Security Awareness 101" course for use by all ICSEC academic
institutions in their curricula, as needed.

"We believe the partnership with SCIPP is an important step
towards addressing a lack of security awareness among university
students," said Dan Shoemaker, director of the ICSEC from the
University of Detroit Mercy. "No student should leave a university
without the basic knowledge of secure computing practices in today's
world, and especially from a CAEIAE school."

To be eligible for National Center of Academic Excellence status,
the information assurance programs, facilities, faculty and research
from four-year colleges and graduate-level universities are evaluated
against stringent criteria and must pass a rigorous review
demonstrating their commitment to academic excellence in information
assurance education. Designation as a CAEIAE is valid for three
academic years, at which time the school must successfully re-apply to
retain its designation.

The SCIPP materials being used in the ICSEC program are based on
the SCIPP Generally Accepted Practices (SCIPP GAP), a common body of
knowledge of security awareness best practices that have been created
and vetted by security luminaries from around the globe.

"We are honored to be associated with the ICSEC consortium and the
NSA/DHS CAEIAE program, as well as play a role in its mission of
promoting security knowledge at the university level," said Winn
Schwartau, founder of SCIPP International.

For more information on SCIPP International, its mission and its
security awareness training and certificate programs, visit
www.SCIPPinternational.org.

About SCIPP International

SCIPP International is a global non-profit organization dedicated
to addressing information security awareness problems where they are
most prevalent - at the human level. Based in Vienna, Virginia, USA,
with offices in London and Hong Kong, SCIPP delivers information
security awareness training programs for end-users and consumers,
along with certification programs for organizations. All SCIPP courses
are based upon the SCIPP GAP - the common body of knowledge describing
SCIPP's 10 generally accepted best business practice areas vetted by
an international advisory council of leading experts. More information
is available at www.SCIPPinternational.org.

Release Summary:

SCIPP International has joined with the International Cyber
Security Education Coalition to provide security awareness materials
for NSA and DHS Centers of Academic Excellence in Information
Assurance Education universities and other schools.

Keyword Tags:

colleges and universities, dhs, information assurance, nsa, scipp,
security awareness

Maples Communications, Inc.
Mike Kilroy or Stephanie Olsen, 949-855-3555
mkilroy@maples.com
solsen@maples.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008