
To help employers find qualified candidates and help cybersecurity professionals demonstrate their hands-on cybersecurity skills, ISACA has launched its Certified Cybersecurity Operations Analyst (CCOA) credential. The credential provides interactive, performance-based labs that simulate real-world scenarios and leverage today’s technologies.
ISACA’s State of Cybersecurity survey report has found that the two top factors for determining qualified candidates for jobs are prior hands-on experience (73%) and credentials held (38%).
The new CCOA certification launch comes after the completion of a beta period that was leveraged to improve both the exam and exam prep. With over 900 applicants competing for 200 available slots, the CCOA beta, which included cybersecurity professionals, provided valuable insights to optimise the final program.
Designed for cybersecurity professionals with a few years of experience, CCOA enables cyber analysts to gain a deeper understanding of how to identify and respond to cyber threats, perform vulnerability assessments, and provide guidance on industry best practices for securing assets, improving their skills and knowledge and setting them apart to future employers.
Focused on both technical and regulatory readiness and addressing the latest cybersecurity challenges, from AI-driven attacks to regulatory compliance, CCOA covers these globally validated key domains: cybersecurity principles and risks; adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures; incident detection and response; and securing assets.
The experience-based component equips cybersecurity analysts with skills that can be used on the job, preparing them to tackle evolving cyber challenges and demonstrate their technical abilities effectively.
“The CCOA credential not only bridges the cybersecurity skills gap but also ensures analysts are job-ready with real-world expertise,” said ISACA’s Jo Stewart-Rattray. “Just as CISA and CISM are globally recognised as leading qualifications, CCOA is poised to follow, distinguishing professionals who earn it and providing employers with a trusted benchmark for proven cybersecurity talent.”
Shannon Donahue, ISACA chief content and publishing officer, added that cybersecurity professionals are often expected to have years of hands-on experience, even when they are early in their careers.
“Being able to demonstrate to peers and prospective employers a mastery of on-the-job tasks, as well as a wide breadth of knowledge and experience in both business and technical skills, can give candidates a competitive advantage in a tighter job market and a boost in getting to that next step in their profession,” she said.
Along with the CCOA online review course, which includes one year of exam prep access to allow for time to master skills, the related materials accompanying the new credential also include a Questions, Answers, and Explanations Database and CCOA Review Manual (available both in print and digital formats).