A Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) is an information technology (IT) professional who has undergone official training and received certification for it upon completion from Cisco Systems. A CCSP has undergone training in network-related security software, hardware and administration. Cisco officially retired the CCSP certification on November 17, 2011.
Whether the network is a WAN, a LAN, a global cloud or an office intranet, qualified IT security personnel are required to ensure that data travels on the network in a safe and reliable way. Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) certification stands as a strong step for IT workers looking to get into the security business.
It's important to note that Cisco decided to evolve CCSP training into a new standard security professional certification program, with the last new CCSP certifications scheduled for distribution in October 2011 and a new Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Security credential taking their place. Many of the CCSP certification exams overlap in subject matter with prerequisites for the new credential, so IT workers seeking a certification with staying power should ensure that they get on track for exams that can be substituted for CCNP requirements when the time comes to recertify.