Cloud Security Alliance, Tiro Security Partner to Offer Complimentary Cloud Certification Exam to Cybersecurity Women, Minorities in nextCISO Program

Program to help minorities advance career path to CISO

SEATTLE – Nov. 17, 2020 –The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today announced that it has partnered with Tiro Security to provide students in the nextCISO program complimentary access to its award-winning Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) exam. Tiro Security’s nextCISO program is an initiative to foster talent and diversity in cybersecurity by providing training and education to bridge the minority and gender gap. Through its participation, CSA hopes to address the challenges faced by minorities in the tech field and to help advance their career path to CISO.

“By 2021, it's estimated that there will be approximately 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions worldwide, according to Cybersecurity Ventures*. Currently, minority representation in the field is relatively low with women holding less than a quarter of information security jobs, and minorities, in general, holding fewer senior level positions. CSA is extremely pleased to be a part of nextCISO and helping to shape the next generation of cybersecurity leaders,” said Jim Reavis, co-founder and CEO, Cloud Security Alliance.

“Minority representation within the cybersecurity field is at roughly 26 percent, and only 14 percent are women. Employment tends to be concentrated in non-management positions, fewer occupying leadership roles, despite being highly educated. Managing diversity is one of the defining issues of our time. The nextCISO program is designed to elevate women and BIPOC and set them on their journey to CISO. Tiro Security is delighted to have the Cloud Security Alliance as a partner in the nextCISO program, and we are looking forward to working together to improve diversity in our industry,” said Kris Rides, founder and CEO, Tiro Security.

Geared toward women and other minorities currently employed outside the technology sector, the complimentary six-month program concludes with a client project and ensures that participants graduate with a strong understanding of controls frameworks for enterprise security and compliance capabilities.

CCSK certification is widely recognized as the standard of expertise for cloud security and provides holders with the foundation they need to secure data in the cloud — crucial professional know-how given organizations' now widespread need to progress and mature their cloud infrastructures. Other benefits of CCSK certification include:

• Proven competency in key cloud security issues through an organization that specializes in cloud research.
• Demonstrable technical knowledge, skills, and the ability to effectively use controls tailored to the cloud.
• Ability to establish a baseline of security best practices when dealing with a broad array of responsibilities, from cloud governance to configuring technical security controls.

With a focus on both human and applied governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) audit skills, the curriculum covers such areas as strategic thinking, governance, leadership, design, and communications. Students will benefit from a combination of online and instructor-led courses, taught by industry leaders. In addition to the CCSK, students will be able to earn the IEC’s Information Security Foundation (based on ISO IEC 27001).

To learn more, visit nextCISO.

* (updated to show original research source)

About Tiro Security
Tiro Security is a boutique cybersecurity and GRC recruitment and solutions organization, based on the West Coast but helping clients all over the USA. Offering an evolutionary response to the solution provider marketplace, Tiro Security provides businesses with the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions via a customized service that caters to the needs of your business model and company goals. Whether that is putting together your cybersecurity team, building out your cybersecurity program or helping ensure you meet your GRC obligations. For further information, visit us at www.tirosec.com, and follow us on Twitter @tirosecurity.

About Cloud Security Alliance
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, certification, events and products. CSA’s activities, knowledge and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers, to governments, entrepreneurs and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which diverse parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.