• Socitm-created content for skills programmes validated at June meeting of iSCAN
• UK skills organisations now being sought to run iSCAN courses

The Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm), the organisation that represents senior IT Managers in local authorities and other public sector organisations, has materials it created for a new IT security skills initiative, funded by the EU, validated at a meeting in Greece held in early June.  Socitm is now inviting UK organisations to come forward to run skills development programmes based on iSCAN-validated materials.

Socitm is part of a consortium of organisations from across Europe participating in iSCAN, a pilot project funded by the EU’s Leonardo da Vinci Programme, that aims to address the current and anticipated skills shortage in the IT Security field in Europe

The project is creating training courses for different levels of expertise and a certification standard with a view to enhance skills and competencies in the latest security issues faced by IT managers, in particular network and internet security managers.  Such courses might be delivered in-house or by dedicated training providers.

iSCAN is a certification scheme that acknowledges, rewards and values both knowledge and experience in the information security field. Because security is as strong as its weakest link iSCAN targets all the links in the security chain. The target audience of the iSCAN certification scheme is professionals and employees of all levels in the IT sector in public and private organisations across the whole European Community.

As a consequence of today’s global and networked business environment, IT professionals and employees in charge of IT systems face an increasing number of continuous threats and vulnerabilities to their systems. This has led to a requirement for continuous and up to date training in the latest IT security issues along with a certification of the knowledge gained.

According to Mark Brett, who is an expert on information assurance and is leading the project for Socitm: ‘Electronic networks and information systems are an essential part of citizens’ daily lives and are fundamental to the success of the EU economy. Convergence and interconnectivity is part of this and notwithstanding the benefits, there is a constant threat of intentional attacks against information systems. These can take a wide variety of forms including illegal access, spread of malicious code and denial of service attacks. It is possible to launch an attack from anywhere in the world, to anywhere in the world, at any time.  By supporting skills development in this area, iSCAN will help reduce the risks to IT security.’

Organizations and companies from all over Europe are participating in the iSCAN project. Current members of the consortium are: Quality and Reliability (Greece), Municipality of Amaroussion (Greece), Mediterranean Management Centre (Cyprus), CINOP (The Netherlands), ALATUS (Poland), SOCITM (Great Britain) and Vilnious Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania).

Training organisations interested in running courses based on iSCAN materials and certification should email mark.brett@socitm.gov.uk

Further information:

Mark Brett, Socitm
Tel: 07720 101 733 email: mark.brett@socitm.gov.uk

Vicky Sargent or Peter Coates, Socitm Press Office
Tel: 0845 094 5641 email: vicky.sargent@socitm.gov.uk or peter.coates@socitm.gov.uk

Notes for editors

ISCAN (Improving Skills, Competences and Professional Qualifications in the area of Network Information Security for IT Managers and staff in the Public Sector) is a Leonardo Pilot Project. Its main objective is to address the current and anticipated skills shortage in the ICT industry in Europe and promote the transferability and recognition of competences and qualifications by developing new standards and measures.

iSCAN is focussing on supporting development of specialized, vocational training addressing IT security issues arising on-the-job, plugging a gap in skills and vocational training for IT security professionals in in Europe, which risks becoming a critical bottleneck to the expansion of Europe’s IT industries.

iSCAN is addressing the issue in two ways: through development of specific vocational training; and through a new security qualification standard that will present, promote and compare qualifications and competencies in IT security.  

More information about the project is available on the webpage www.iscan.info.