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A group made up of representatives of the U.S. government and leading technology companies has released new certification standards for security professionals, according to a statement released Monday by the Computing Technology Industry Association.

The new certification, known as Security+, is intended to provide a standard method for training and evaluating the abilities of information technology professionals.

Among the organizations that participated in the Security+ committee are major software and hardware vendors such as Microsoft, IBM, and Sun Microsystems, as well as leading security companies such as RSA Security, Entrust, and VeriSign.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, and National Institute of Standards and Technology along with leading industry trade groups also contributed to the creation of the Security+ certification standards, CompTIA said.

Security+ certification is targeted at professionals with at least two years of computer networking experience and is intended to create an objective measure that companies and organizations can use to assess the security training of employees and job applicants.

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Individuals seeking Security+ certification must pass an examination covering security concepts ranging from methods of external attack to authentication and access control.

Information professionals must also master areas such as cryptography and organizational security concepts.

The ultimate goal of Security+ certification is to increase the number of men and women who are properly trained to manage what CompTIA calls the "frontline security-related positions"--those jobs with direct oversight of the machines and systems that may come under attack or otherwise be compromised, according to CompTIA.

In addition to an exam published by CompTIA, academic institutions and technology courseware developers such as Sybex are in the process of producing printed and software-based courseware for Security+ certification, according to CompTIA.

In addition to training offered from independent training vendors and educational institutions, hardware and software companies and security associations have indicated that they will use CompTIA's Security+ certification part of their company-specific senior-level security certification programs, according to CompTIA.

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