Prime Highlights :
CompTIA launches the SecOT+ credential to bridge the skills gap in cybersecurity between IT and operational technology (OT) fields.
The initiative supports workforce preparedness for critical infrastructure by aligning OT and IT cybersecurity capabilities.
Key Facts :
SecOT+ covers the main OT security topics including risk management, compliance, system hardening, and legacy system security.
Target user base is OT technicians, engineers, cybersecurity professionals, and network architects.
Primary Background :
In an effort to improve the cybersecurity of the industrial sector, CompTIA has introduced its new SecOT+ certification. It is designed to close the OT and IT professionals’ cybersecurity skill gap of the past. As industrial systems become increasingly interconnected, integrated cybersecurity ability in both areas is now more urgently needed.
SecOT+ certification is designed to provide professionals from throughout the wide range—shop floor technicians to industrial engineers, cybersecurity experts, and network architects—with the appropriate skills to secure OT environments. Among the most critical focus areas of the certification are risk assessment, OT-specific regulatory compliance, system hardening, third-party risk management, and legacy system hardening—the vast majority of which are still required in operational environments even though they have antiquated security practices.
CompTIA Chief Technology Evangelist James Stanger emphasized the new credential would serve as a driver of workforce development across industries of essential infrastructure. Among its objectives are helping non-technical professionals gain entry to the OT market, enabling IT security education for traditional OT professionals, and giving IT professionals OT-specific security training. Another fundamental objective is to facilitate better collaboration between IT and OT departments—a significant bottleneck in hybridized industrial environments. The release timing is especially important. With digital transformation in industries, the convergence of IT and OT systems introduces new security issues. However, the workforce has too frequently been without cross-functional skill sets to secure these converged environments. With the provision of a comprehensive and standardized certification, CompTIA is helping enhance cyber defense stances, encourage digital maturity, and combat growing complexity of threats against industrial infrastructure.
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