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I am sure that all DOD contractors know this already, but there is a requirement to be at a minimum to be Security + certified before you can access government computing resources at certain levels that DOD specifies. There is a requirement to continue the security education if you are a DOD employee or contractor and the life long certification is not valid; for as the DOD sees it, if you do not have the credits. You can still get full credit if you pass one of the test that CompTIA has authorized to meet the credit requirements. My question is to CWNP staff. Could you all get the CWSP on this list to qualify as being one of CompTIA's CE Higher Level Certifications so I do not have to worry about getting the credits. This way I would knock out the credits at the same time I am getting another certification. Below is a link to the list of certifications that will exempt you from taking the actual CE credits:

http://www.comptia.org/Libraries/Certification_Documents/CE_Charts.sflb.ashx

Hi Smebbin,

I'm a DoD contractor and familiar with the DoD IAT requirements; believe I can answer your question. There are 3 tiers of required IA certification to support different job requirements. (People who have any kind of admin rights or configure any equipment usually need IAT1 at a minimum.) The requirements are that a person must have a security certification and an OS certification.

From my experience, some organizations will dictate to employees which OS cert to get, aligning with areas they expect them to be working. Others will allow employees to select their own. I am fortunate in that I was able to pick my own.

The good news is that they do consider CWNP certifications as a choice for "OS". That's what I picked.

The IAT levels increase in required level of certs as the IAT level goes up. For example last few years I was ?IAT1? because I was a CWNA and Security + certified. In a few weeks I am sitting for (and passing I hope! =) ) my CWSP exam. This will change my status to IAT2.

The Navy COOL site has a good link that shows the breakdown on certification options, here:

https://www.cool.navy.mil/ia_documents/ia_iat_flow.htm

I work for Joint Chiefs and this Navy site is still a reference for us, so I think it is service-neutral.

Does that answer your question?
Cheers,
Tracy

Oh, I missed your link the first time around and think I missed some of your question, too. You are asking about continuing education requiremetns from CompTIA as well, my bad.

Still, DoD IAT certifications don't require you to go through CompTIA. For example instead of doing Security+ through CompTIA you could select GSEC through GIAC/SANS instead to meet the security requirement if you prefer. Most organizations do require either continuing education or retesting to keep current,though.

But your point is good on getting CWNP on CompTIA's list, gotchya.

Cheers,
Tracy

Thanks for the input SeaLass and I am sorry for the delay in responding. But the link and it's contents that I included in the prior message is the key. I was thinking about pursuing the CWSP in the near future and I noticed that it was not one of the qualifying certifications that will count instead of the CE classes to meet the DoD Security + continuity requirements for my IAT level. I have never heard of the GSEC route. I will research it.