The Redesigned CCNP Security, Retiring Exams, & More News From Cisco

A few days ago, Cisco became the first of the biggest certification vendors to announce the changes and updates to their IT certifications map – including CCNP Security certification changes and Cisco Cybersecurity Specialist certification launch. All in all, the changes support the latest trend of stepping up security certifications to respond to the fast-changing network security trends.

In 2014, Cisco strives to address the skill deficit in network security given the challenges of cloud and mobility, by providing network security engineers, analysts, and product specialists with development opportunities. The announced changes include:

• Launch of the redesigned CCNP Security certification program
• Launch of the new Cisco Cybersecurity Specialist certification
• Announcement of the retirement of the existing Cisco Security Specialist certifications
• New and updated product training courses

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the redesign of CCNP Security certification program, which also includes the retirement of a number of exams.

CCNP Security Certification Program Redesign

The redesign of the CCNP Security certification reflects the skills and responsibilities required of today’s network security engineers, who increasingly require a holistic end-to-end understanding of a complete security posture.

The new training courses and labs that are being provided as part of the redesigned certification will utilize a common topology and have been created to complement one another, allowing engineers to grow their skills in harmony with their careers as they progress through the certification.

The following exams and corresponding training courses are available for registration worldwide:

300-206 Implementing Cisco Edge Network Security Solutions (SENSS)     

The 300-206 (SENSS)exam tests the knowledge of configuring and implementing security on Cisco network perimeter edge devices such as a Cisco Switch, Cisco Router, and Cisco ASA Firewall. This exam focuses on the technologies used to secure the perimeter of a network such as Network Address Translation (NAT), ASA policy and application inspect, and Zone-Based Firewall on Cisco routers. Exam topics are available here.

300-207 Implementing Cisco Threat Control Solutions (SITCS)       

The 300-207 (SITCS) exam tests a network security engineer on advanced firewall architecture and configuration with Cisco’s Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) utilizing access and identity polices. This exam covers integration of Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and context-aware firewall components, as well as Web (Cloud) and Email Security solutions. Take a look at the topics here.

300-208 Implementing Cisco Secure Access Solutions (SISAS)        

The 300-208 (SISAS) exam tests whether a network security engineer knows the components and architecture of secure access by utilizing 802.1X and TrustSec. This exam covers Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) architecture, solution and components as an overall network threat mitigation and endpoint control solutions. It also includes the fundamental concepts of BYOD using posture and profiling services of ISE. Exam topics available here.

300-209 Implementing Cisco Secure Mobility Solutions (SIMOS)    

The 300-209 (SIMOS) exam tests a network security engineer on the variety of Virtual Private Network (VPN) solutions that Cisco has available on the Cisco ASA firewall and Cisco IOS software platforms. The exam assesses the knowledge necessary to properly implement secure remote communications through VPN technology such as remote access SSL VPN and Site-to-Site VPN (DMVPN, FlexVPN). You can check the topics for this exam here.

Those who are already in the process of attaining their CCNP Security certification have the option of completing their remaining exams before the last date to test of April 21, 2014 or of migrating to the new exams, with credit applied for existing exams passed. More information about the migration path is available here.

Retired Exams

With the redesign of CCNP Security program and the launch of the new Cybersecurity Specialist certification, Cisco retires sits current CCNP Security exams. The following exams and certifications will be retired affective April 22, 2014. Therefore, the last day for taking these exams is April 21.

Security Certification	Retiring Exam
Cisco ASA Specialist	642-618 FIREWALL 642-648 VPN
Cisco Firewall Security Specialist	642-618 FIREWALL 642-637 SECURE
Cisco IOS Security Specialist	642-637 SECURE
Cisco IPS Security Specialist	642-627 IPS
Cisco VPN Security Specialist	642-637 SECURE 642-648 VPN

 

So, if you were planning to become a CCNP Security this year, you have every chance to get a newly updated certification which supposedly reflects the most current industry trends. Stay tunes as well explore the brand new Cisco Cybersecurity Specialist certification in our next post.

• Category: cisco
• Tags: ccnp, ccnp security, certification, changes, cisco, exam, exams, it certification, it certification exam, it certification exams, it certifications, migration, news, retiring exams, security, senss, simos, sisas, sitcs