Quick Q&A with David Shearer

0
david shearer

“David Shearer-CEO, (ISC)²‘s Global Information Security Workforce”

Back in April 2015, (ISC)²‘s Global Information Security Workforce Study foretold of a massive shortfall in the global information security workforce, predicted to reach dire proportions by 2020. The deficit of over 1.5 million professionals is in addition to staff that will be hired at the forecast rate of recruitment, pitching this looming catastrophe as one that demands a global, unified solution. (ISC)² CEO, David Shearer, has big plans for his organisation over the coming years, strategies that he hopes will begin to address this untenable situation. His call to action is bigger than any individual company or country: for the sake of everyone, information security professionals the world over need to coordinate, communicate, collaborate and spread the word that security needs help. Only by bringing new people into the industry are we ever going to beat cybercrime and make the Internet a safe place to work and play.

(ISC)² (the abbreviation of International Information System Security Certification Consortium) is a global leader in cyber security education and certification, operating as a not-for-profit in 160 countries around the world. It is headquartered in the United States, with branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and an authorised agency in Beijing. The organisation of best known for running the professional certification known as CISSP, however, there is a lot more to (ISC)² than first meets the eye. Running seven of the most widely recognised and accepted professional certifications in the industry, (ISC)² is the single largest members’ community of information security professionals, with over 110,000 members.

The company was formed in 1989 as a collaboration between a collective of US companies wishing to standardise the way information security professionals were certified. The approach was innovative and highly desirable to both the industry and individuals and set the standard for what has become an enormous success. After 6 ½ years steering the (ISC)² ship, CEO Hord Tipton decided to retire and hand the helm to his second in command, David Shearer. Shearer had been Tipton’s COO for the previous two years, however, they’d been friends and colleagues for many years prior, so passing control to Shearer was an easy decision… Click HERE to find out more about this article

Share.