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Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

Definition

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) is a certification issued by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The purpose of the certification is to assist employers in hiring auditors who are skilled in measuring and assessing IT controls by affirming that a candidate possesses a baseline set of auditing skills. In order to receive the certification, applicants must pass an examination that includes sections on the following topics, among others:

auditing practices and techniques
gathering and preserving evidence in forensic investigations
control objectives and reporting techniques

Before an applicant is allowed to sit for the exam, he or she must already have a minimum of five years experience in one of six information systems of expertise, as well as be willing to sign and comply with ISACA's Code of Professional Ethics.

The six areas of expertise are:

Information Systems (IS) audit process
IT Governance
Systems and Infrastructure Lifecycle Management
IT Service Delivery and Support
Protection of Information Assets
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

If the candidate has enough related experience, passes the exam and signs the code, he or she will receive the certification; maintenance of the certification, however, requires that practitioners gain Continuing Professional Education credits so that their skills remain relevant to their field.

Related glossary terms: RSA algorithm (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), data key, greynet (or graynet), spam cocktail (or anti-spam cocktail), fingerscanning (fingerprint scanning), munging, insider threat, authentication server, defense in depth, nonrepudiation

This was last updated in October 2010

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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