UKI and Examplify Officially Launch the Social Media Security Professional (SMSP) Certification Powered by CompTIA

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultimate Knowledge Institute (UKI), in partnership with CompTIA's wholly –owned subsidiary, Examplify, today announced the launch of the Social Media Security Professional (SMSP) certification exam powered by CompTIA. This new certification program focuses on the security threats emerging from social networking platforms, validating the knowledge and skills of the next generation of IT security professionals to protect their organizations' intellectual property and brand reputation from hackers.

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The SMSP Certification exam tests candidates' knowledge and skills in the areas of social media technical composition, risks, security and incident response, and social media policy framework, including terms of service and privacy statements. Candidates can prepare for this exam by attending an official training course administered by Ultimate Knowledge Institute's (UKI) Authorized Training Partners (ATPs), or they can opt to challenge the exam without official training.

"The SMSP certification is unique because it focuses on technical granularity specific to social media platforms such as cross-site scripting, socware (social media malware), phishing, data profiling, geo-tagging, and evil twin attacks," said Dr. Scott A. Wells UKI co-founder. "The SMSP certification is designed to close the growing skills gap for cybersecurity professionals who specialize in identifying and mitigating social media risk. The recent breaches of Burger King and Jeeps' Twitter accounts help illustrate that organizations of all sizes are highly susceptible to security attacks through social networking platforms and we need to have skilled workforce ready to prevent such attacks."

The increasingly sophisticated social media attacks worry IT professionals. Recent studies by Sourcefire, McAfee, Forrester and Norton have named social media security among the top three biggest challenges for the information assurance industry in 2013. The urgency to address the growing security risks is highlighted by Protiviti's "2013 Internal Audit Capabilities and Needs Survey Report" of more than 1,000 internal auditors. The survey revealed that 43 percent of respondents' organizations have no social media policy and those that do often fail to address basic security issues.   

"From a risk management perspective, this poses significant potential problems for businesses that can range from reputational risk to IT infrastructure risk as a result of unchecked exposures to customer, vendor and company information," said Brian Christensen, executive vice president, global internal audit, at Protiviti. However, Infosec executives are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of social media.  In the "2013 IT Priorities Survey," Protiviti Inc. revealed that CIOs view improved competency in security for social media as one of their most pressing concerns.  

"The worldwide interest in the SMSP beta exam, which was attempted by IS professionals from Fortune 500 enterprises and government organizations including Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, SRA International, Wells Fargo, Wyndham International, US Department of Defense, US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corps, FBI and many others, underscores the need for a global standard for effective social media security processes and policies," said Tony Akers, UKI Co-founder. "In order to ensure the highest quality and reliability of the SMSP exam, we turned to our partners at Examplify to develop the examination process."

"The social space requires security considerations that go beyond firewalls and other tools that can be used to minimize risk," said Bryan Kainrath, vice president, Examplify. "It begins with education, training and certification such as the SMSP certification, so IT professionals are best prepared to apply the security expertise and best practices necessary to battle risks associated with social activities."

The SMSP exam (UK0-001) will be available only through Pearson VUE testing centers. The certification exam features 65 multiple-choice questions, which must be completed within 90 minutes. The official SMSP training will be delivered through live, instructor-led training by UKI's Authorized Partners including Global Knowledge, SRA International and Great Learning Education Centre in Hong Kong. To view the training partners and course schedule, visit: http://www.ultimateknowledge.com/_ATP_partners.asp. Individuals who opt to challenge the SMSP exam can purchase Pearson VUE exam vouchers through UKI's online store.

For more information about the SMSP Certification, visit http://www.ultimateknowledge.com. You can contact UKI at [email protected] or 1-888-677-5696.

About UKI 
UKI is an information technology and information security training provider and the creator of the industry's most comprehensive Social Media Security Training and Certification program. For the past 15 years, UKI has been the preferred training partner for the Department of Defense, Federal Agencies, DOD Contracting Partners, and Fortune 500 companies. UKI is dedicated to ensuring that students are thoroughly prepared to immediately apply their new skills to the environment they support. For more information, visit http://www.ultimateknowledge.com

About Examplify 
Examplify, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CompTIA Certifications, LLC, offers custom, consultative solutions for certification exam programs, including exam development, candidate managed services, and content development. The cornerstone of Examplify's success is our commitment to strong partnership collaborations. Examplify leverages the proven exam expertise and processes of CompTIA, which has been developing industry-standard, vendor-neutral IT certifications for more than 20 years. The CompTIA certification portfolio features 17 credentials, including four ISO 17024 accredited certifications. The services provided by Examplify are rooted in a validity-centered approach to exam development and the process follows the best practices outlined by the professional testing community. For more information, visit http://www.examplify.com.

Contact: Steven Ostrowski with Examplify 630-678-8468 [email protected]

SOURCE Examplify