What Are The Differences Between CISM and CISA?
Certified Information Systems Auditors or CISA and Certified Information Security Managers or CISM are both certifications offered by ISACA - Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Let us look at the differences between these two in some detai
Certified Information Systems Auditors or CISA and Certified Information Security Managers or CISM are both certifications offered by ISACA - Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Let us look at the differences between these two in some detail.
The main difference between CISA and CISM
The CISA and CISM are two completely different types of certifications that are required for different career paths. So, the choice is yours whether you want to get the CISA or CISM certification. Basically, the CISA certificate is for the people who want to become auditors, whereas those who want to become risk managers and information security managers will need the CISM certificate. The CISM recognizes experts at managing, designing, supervising, and assessing an enterprise’s or organization’s information security. Currently, over 3200 individuals have acquired this certification. Whereas CISA recognizes those audit professionals who are experienced in assessing are vulnerabilities, reporting on compliance, and instituting controls within an enterprise. Currently, over 129000 individuals have acquired this certification.
Initially, the CISA was considered to be a qualification that would be suitable for the post of IS security manager as well apart from the post of an auditor. But the roles of the IS security manager and auditor are totally different. The CISM certification is not for the practitioners of information security; it is more suited to those who plan to have a managerial career and are capable of making IS management decisions.
The CISA certification is meant for information systems auditors. The CISM certification is meant for information security managers. Although the domains of both certifications are somewhat similar, they are, in essence, very different from each other.
Job Descriptions: The job description of the people who have the CISA certification focuses on controls, IT auditing, and regulatory compliance. The job description of the CISM holders includes business continuity planning, information security management, business impact analysis, disaster recovery planning, etc. The most effective way to understand the similarities and differences between both certifications is by analyzing the job practice area of both, as mentioned on the website of ISACA. The CISA includes 5 job practice areas whereas, the CISM consist of 4 job practice areas. Although there are certain similarities, it is important to know that the main difference between CISM and CISA is that one of them is meant for managers of IS professionals, and the other one is meant for IT auditors.
Although both of these are related to the field of security, if you have a CISA certificate, you will most likely be appointed in positions where you will be responsible for implementing a risk management program, security incident management, or security program development. But if you have a CISM certificate, then you will have to run tests to ensure that the security environment has been implemented.
You must be clear about the difference between both these certifications and which one you want to earn. The CISA certificate can be earned by taking a CISA course online and appearing for the exam, and for earning the CISM certificate, you will have to pass the exam and have adequate work experience.
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