The (ISC)² Foundation will offer programmes that leverage the unique skill sets of information security professionals.
The Foundation is focused on three core areas: community/end-user education, scholarships and industry research. The organisation encourages community service and engagement that will have a long-term impact on communities by supporting online security education programmes for children, parents and teachers. The Foundation is also dedicated to building the next generation of information security professionals, with scholarships aimed at students from high school through the post-graduate level. Finally, it supports research that illuminates the information security issues facing governments, private industry, educators, the information security profession and society.
“There is an immediate need from the public to better understand information security safety issues, and unfortunately, to date, there have only been a few avenues they can turn to for valuable, trusted information. We created the (ISC)2 Foundation not only to deepen the impact of our social responsibility programs but to also pay our success forward by creating an entity that is dedicated to giving back to the community”, said W. Hord Tipton, CISSP-ISSEP, CAP, CISA, executive director of (ISC)2. “With the Foundation, we will keep more children safe from online predators, send more promising young people to school, and conduct more research that leads to public policy initiatives in support of our industry.”
More specifically, the Foundation will drive (ISC)²’s existing goodwill programmes, including:
- Safe and Secure Online – A free public service that places certified information security experts in classrooms to teach children ages 7-14 to protect themselves online.
- Information Security Scholarship Programme – (ISC)² has granted over US$300,000 in scholarships to nearly 30 recipients since 2004, funding research on topics ranging from role-based personnel anomaly detection to mitigation of vulnerabilities in control system code.
- Research - The (ISC)² Foundation’s research program tracks and analyzes workforce trends and global threats to cyber security to inform the professional development and certification programs of (ISC)², while helping the media, academics, policymakers and others better understand technology’s impact on society.
Beneficiaries of the foundation include parents, teachers, students, anyone considering a career in information security, current professionals and the profession at large. Leading the foundation as its director is Julie Peeler. Peeler will oversee fundraising; programme development, expansion and implementation; and support services for the foundation. She will also ensure compliance with state and federal regulations regarding grants, charitable contributions and fund management.