IT Professionals Have New Privacy Certification Available

The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) this week announced its new certification, the Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) program. When I spoke with IAPP CTO Jeff Northrop about the announcement, he noted that during the organization’s 14-year history, the release of a new certification program has been quite rare, but that this new cert fulfills an urgent, emerging need within the IT profession, and that “the current IAPP membership will want this certification, and it will also reach new audiences within the security communication community, in systems and DevOps, for example.”

J. Trevor Hughes, IAPP president and CEO, said in the release that “technology, engineering, and infosec professionals all need to know how privacy is appropriately managed in today’s information economy. In many circumstances, privacy is becoming a de facto job requirement for technology professionals. The CIPT answers that call.”

Added IAPP Chairman and Hewlett-Packard Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer Scott Taylor, “the CIPT designation will be a significant distinguisher in the field. It demonstrates understanding of privacy and data protection practices in the development, engineering, deployment and auditing of IT products and services.”

Beginning in July 2014, the textbook developed to support the certification program, “Privacy in Technology: Standards and Practices for Engineers and Security and IT Professionals,” will be available. The first training classes and exams will be held during the IAPP Privacy Academy/CSA Congress, September 17-19, in San Jose, California.