Defence college signs MoU with Tiger Scheme

The Defence College of Communications and Information Systems (DCCIS) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tiger Scheme to provide a qualification for military personnel attending its cyber security training courses. The college, which trains communications specialists in the armed forces, will become an examining body for the Tiger Scheme, using test environments controlled by the latter but sited at the DCCIS in Blandford, Dorset. Tiger Scheme is a not-for-profit organisation, working with the University of Glamorgan, that assesses the technical, legal and ethical capabilities of penetration testers - specialists who simulate an attack on a computer system or network to assess its security. It says there is a shortage of certified testers in the UK Professor Andrew Blyth, head of the Tiger Scheme technical panel, said: "Because of this (the MoU) we can issue Tiger Scheme qualifications to all individuals passing the assessment, and will be doing so. All service personnel passing the QSTM (qualified security team member) assessment will leave with a recognised qualification. "We believe this will actively promote the cause of professionalism, and will assist both the penetration testing community and the organisations that make use of their skills." The two bodies will also jointly develop additional technical qualifications, starting with wireless security, to supplement the network security and forensic qualifications already offered under the scheme. The DCCIS provides training for up to 10,000 service personnel a year, ranging from two week specialist courses to masters degrees. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For updates on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.