Cisco announced a major update to Cisco CCNA Security and CCNP Security certifications to deliver job-ready training designed to provide the most up-to-date information on new security products and best practices to meet evolving threats and compliance requirements.

Business trends such as bring your own device ("BYOD"), mobility, cloud and virtualization are creating opportunities for new threats and challenges to corporate networks. Security breaches and the compromise of sensitive information are major concerns for organizations worldwide.

Cisco security certifications provide IT professionals with the skills to help ensure critical data remains safe and networks meet compliance requirements.

Key facts:

• New topics that are included in the updated training include Cisco ASA adaptive security appliance version 8.3 and 8.4 software, Cisco AnyConnect 3.0 and traditional IPsec clients, EtherChannel and the latest firewall features.
• CCNA Security lays the foundation for job roles such as Network Security Specialist, Security Administrator and Network Security Support Engineer. The certification courses and exams have been updated to include 640-554 Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS).
• CCNP Security is aligned specifically to the job role of the Network Security Engineer. Network Security Engineers are responsible for security in routers, switches, networking devices and appliances, as well as choosing, deploying, supporting and troubleshooting firewalls, VPNs and IDS/IPS solutions for their networking environments. CCNP Security courses and exams have been updated to include 642-648 Deploying Cisco ASA VPN Solutions (VPN v2.0) as well as 642-618 Deploying Cisco ASA Firewall Solutions (FIREWALL v2.0).