SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2011) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that it has received formal accreditation from the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), which recognizes that Cisco® security courseware meets the 4013 training standard for information assurance professionals in federal departments and agencies.

Key Facts/Highlights

• The CNSS represents a broad cross-section of federal departments and agencies, and sets the training standards for information assurance professionals in the government and corporate sectors.
• The security of critical infrastructure depends largely on the readiness of a skilled workforce.
• The CNSS standards specify the knowledge, skills and abilities required to execute the duties and responsibilities of information systems security professionals.
• These standards ensure that information assurance professionals are trained to oversee and help protect national security information systems.
• The Information Assurance Courseware Evaluation Program, a curriculum certification committee within the National Information Assurance Education and Training Program, has certified the Cisco CCNP® Security courseware as meeting all of the elements from the CNSS National Training Standards.
• This recognition of CCNP Security complements the existing CNSS 4013 designation for CCSP. It also is the progression of CNSS 4011, a feature of the CCNA Security curriculum.
• Cisco certification and product training is delivered by a comprehensive network of authorized Cisco Learning Partners.

CCNP Security

• The CCNP Security certification validates the ability to plan, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks and work collaboratively with specialists on advanced security, voice, wireless and video solutions.
• Those who achieve the CCNP Security certification have demonstrated the skills required in enterprise roles such as network technician, support engineer, systems engineer or network engineer.

Supporting Quotes:

• Jeanne Beliveau Dunn, vice president and general manager, Learning@Cisco, said: "Cisco is continuously collaborating with partners in corporate, educational and government roles to help ensure the relevance, quality and applicability of Cisco training and certification. This certification from CNSS recognizes Cisco's ability to deliver end-to-end solutions to government partners with comprehensive products, services and training scaled to meet compliance and security needs."

• Barry Kaufman, director, products and federal programs, Fast Lane US, said: "As threats and vulnerabilities continue to increase and evolve, today's government IT security professionals need leading-edge training and certification to validate their skills and protect critical infrastructure from a growing cyber-threat. The 4013 designation from CNSS highlights that Cisco authorized training and certification meets or exceeds the requirements of government organizations."

• Steve Rixse, vice president of federal sales, Global Knowledge, said: "According to a recent Cisco survey of the CCIE community, security and risk management will be the networking skills in greatest demand over the next five years. Cisco, in partnership with its authorized Learning Partners such as Global Knowledge, will meet this growth demand by helping prepare qualified individuals with the skills and validated experience to protect government networks and infrastructure."

Supporting Resources:

• Cisco Learning Network
• Cisco CCNP Certification

Social Media Destinations:

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/learningatcisco
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cisco-Career-Certifications/111552132193668
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3443017
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/cisco

Technorati Tags: Cisco, Certification, Cisco CCNP, Cisco CCSP, Cisco Certification, Security Certification, CCNP Specialist, Security Specialist, CNSS 4011, CNSS 4013A, Infosec, Network Security

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