There are four professional registration titles aligned to the Council’s professional standard. These are:
Associate - An Associate will have demonstrated competence within areas of cyber security knowledge and are either employed in or ready for employment within cyber security. As such, they are operating at a level where their professional expertise could be used effectively in cyber security role.
Practitioner - A Practitioner will have practical experience in cyber security and be a practitioner operating at a level at which their professional expertise is being used effectively in their role.
Principal - A Principal title is awarded to an established cyber professional who plays an active part in the profession and can demonstrate practical contributions to cyber engagements whilst not necessarily leading them.
Chartered - A Chartered title is awarded to an established cyber professional who can evidence leadership in cyber engagements whilst playing an active role in the wider profession and has knowledge of related specialisms.
What is the difference between Chartered and Principal?
The below table explains the key differences between the Principal Cyber Security Professional and the Chartered Cyber Security Professional.
Chartered
Principal
Will have significant practical knowledge in several specialisms, though should have a particular specialism at which they are an acknowledged expert. As such, they should be operating at a level where their professional opinion may reasonably be sought to contribute to the development of the overall Cyber security profession.
Will have practical experience in a specific specialism at which they are an expert practitioner. They will also have experience in other specialisms and, as such, should be operating at a level where their professional expertise may reasonably be sought to contribute to the development of their specific specialism.
Shall Demonstrate:
Knowledge, understanding and experience relating to their specialism, including understanding of cyber security in its widest sense and should be able to demonstrate knowledge across a number of security specialisms.
Knowledge, understanding and experience relating to their specialism, including experience of cyber security in another specialism.
Have effective communications and interpersonal skills to operate at all levels within and without an organisation, with their peers and those who have little or no knowledge of cyber security.
Have appropriate communications and interpersonal skills to fulfil their role within their organisation with those who may have little or no knowledge of cyber security.
Developed effective management skills and are able to demonstrate their ability to lead and mentor groups and individuals in a personal, technical or business cyber security environment.
Developed management skills and are able to demonstrate their ability to lead groups and individuals in a personal, technical or business cyber security environment.
Have the highest levels of integrity, morals and ethical values.
Have high levels of integrity, morals and ethical values.
Does Chartership make me an Expert Witness?
An expert witness is an individual who is called upon to give expert evidence in a court of law. An expert witness methodically presents opinion evidence based on evidence of fact.
An expert is anyone with specialist knowledge not commonly held, or likely to be understood by a layman. This is expected as part of the Chartered Standard. An expert witness, however, is an expert but also has specialist knowledge which supports considered opinions which may be placed before a court.
The Expert Witness Institute has developed a core competency framework which sets out the attributed knowledge and skills that experts must develop if they wish to act as an expert witness.
NB: A statement given in legal cases holds the professional who has it accountable. This framework has not yet been mapped to the Council's Standard of Professional Competence and Commitment for the Chartered title.
Therefore being Professionally Registered as a Chartered Cyber Security Professional does not equal being or becoming an Expert Witness.
