CompTIA Expands Security Trustmark Certification Program

CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry, has expanded its CompTIA Security Trustmark program to include two levels of the business accreditation, which identifies companies that follow industry-accepted best security processes.

The CompTIA Security Trustmark now includes Associate Level and Verified Level statuses.

"Many companies claim to have security expertise, but holders of the CompTIA Security Trustmark have taken an important extra step by validating their expertise and joining an elite group of security professionals," says Jim Hamilton, vice president, member relations, CompTIA.

"Trustmark holders have demonstrated their ability to keep clients' information safe and secure by following best practices in information, personnel and environmental security," Hamilton continued. "That's strong reassurance for current and prospective customers; and a marketable differentiator a solution provider can use to grow its security business."

To date, 31 technology solution providers in North America have earned the CompTIA Security Trustmark, which covers 12 critical security areas, including business security policy, business continuity, access management, incident management and personnel security procedures.

Business Continuity Technologies in Las Vegas has achieved the new designation and uses it as a differentiator vs. competitors. "We were excited about the CompTIA Security Trustmark from the minute we heard about it," says Mike Semel, vice president and chief security officer. "We promote our services to prospects in industries with strict IT security requirements, like healthcare and finance, yet our own industry is unregulated and we had no way to prove that we followed IT industry best practices."

"The security trustmark has proven to be a great marketing tool that shows the world that we have met a strict compliance standard," Semel added. "We've also 'borrowed' the trustmark framework to develop our own security assessment for businesses, which has been profitable both in short-term projects and long-term relationships with business owners and C-level executives."

To achieve the CompTIA Security Trustmark Associate Level, an organization must undergo an extensive review of its security policies, complete a security control survey and achieve a passing score based on their responses. The Associate level accreditation is required before advancing to the CompTIA Security Trustmark Verified Level.

Companies seeking the Verified Level credential undergo a rigorous review of their security assessment and business practices by an accredited third-party assessor to verify that their processes protect confidential information.