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DoD 8570.1 Certification Requirements |
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DoD 8570.1 is a directive that provides the basis for training, certifying and managing the DoD Information Assurance workforce. Information Assurance managers and technicians are required to be trained and certified according to a DoD baseline requirement. There is a Manual that accompanies the Directive, and which states the specific certifications that are mandated by the DoD 8570.1 certification program.
Workforce management issues are the primary focus of most of the DoD 8570.1 Directive. Manpower and personnel databases must be identified and documented, and IA personnel must meet the training and certification requirements that come with their job functions. In order to be able to put people with adequate skills in important positions, DoD makes an effort to have professional IA workforce, with skills and knowledge necessary to prevent attacks against DoD information, information infrastructures, and information systems. DoD 8570.1 is concerned with the information assurance duties that must be performed by IA Technical and IA Management personnel. The training and certification requirements of DoD 8570.1 address all DoD IA workforce members, including civilians, military, local and foreign nationals, and contractors. These requirements apply to all these personnel categories regardless of how their duties are performed, be it pert-time, full-time or embedded.
The DoD baseline certification requirements must be met by anyone currently performing one of the Information Assurance functions outlined in the management or technical categories of the DoD 8570.1M Manual. The appropriate certification is not the only requirement. IAT and IAM personnel must maintain their certified status by completing continuous learning. DoD 8570.1M requires all Components and Agencies IA personnel to be certified within four years of the date when it was published, as follows: ten percent of the Information Assurance personnel should become certified during the first year, and then thirty percent each of the following three years. IA personnel are strongly recommended to complete DoD training, which can be available either internally or externally. Regardless of the form of DoD training that they register for, they should make sure that its learning objectives are in accordance with the baseline certifications outlined in DoD 8570.1M. The baseline certifications for IA Technical and Management personnel include A+, Network+, Security+, etc. DoD training requirements include initial training, IA certification, on the job training, refresher training or continuing education, and re-certification, as required by the certification.As explained above, DoD 8570.1 requires Information Assurance personnel to be professionally certified. Any IA Technician must have extensive skills and knowledge of industry-wide topics, such as infrastructure security, communication security, access control, cryptography, authentication, external attack, as well as organization and operational security. One of the mandated certifications in DoD 8570.1M is the CompTIA Security+ Certification, which is part of the appropriate DoD training for IA personnel. There are many providers of IT training under different formats (classroom training, self study, e-learning, etc.) But not all of them can provide a good foundation for the required baseline certification. This is the reason why you have to make an educated choice of your IT training provider, and make sure you are dealing with an official learning partner. |
