As I’ve mentionned previously, I had the chance of participating in the JTAs for the next version of CWSP. To ensure the validity of the exam revision process, CWNP has begun last year to follow a procedure recommended by ANSI. This process includes a JTA, followed by the definition of objectives, a breakdown into categories which are weighted according to the real life « importance » of tasks, and then finally the creation of exam and course materials.

So CWNP gathered a group of subject matter experts to write up a description and tasks which will guide the next exam’s objectives.  The process is by no means easy: with 7+ experts around a table, none of them doing exactly the same job, sometimes concensus is not easy to reach. Regardless, with a little guidance (ok, I tend to lead since I’m quite familiar now with the process, this was my fourth JTA), we always end up with something satisfiying.

This time, the job description our team has agreed to is:

The Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) is a WLAN subject matter expert (SME) able to identify and mitigate threats to a network.  This SME can assist in the creation and implementation of an organization’s enforceable security policy by following applicable regulations, standards, and accepted best practices. A CWSP effectively uses appropriate tools and procedures to ensure the ongoing security of the network.  

In comparison with previous version, our team felt like there should be more attention drawn to being proactive in learning about current security threats, CVEs and such. It is something that any professional in the telecom field will tell you is too often forgotten, only to be brought back to the forefront after an incident (or ten). This will be added to the usual topics of security policy definition, creation, implementation and maintenance. Concensus around the concept of security lifecycle makes CWSP a really practical cert for anyone interested in wireless security. In a world where every network component is interdependant, Wi-Fi security cannot be only about implementing WPA2-Enterprise. Some of you will be glad to hear that it is not in the plans to keep WEP in the test, and WPA3 should naturally be the newest Wi-Fi Alliance certification on the test.

Should you be planning on taking your CWSP soon, I believe the newest iteration and its related material should be availlable around the time of CWNP’s Wi-Fi Trek in Nashville. The conference will take place at the (awesome) Gaylord Opryland from September 18-20, 2019. Bootcamps will be availlable prior to the conference and will run 3 days.

The Trek is always fun to attend and is chock full of super interesting topics and people willing to share their experiences with our wonderful Wi-Fi Community. Last year, some of the best talks included David Coleman’s 802.11ax in the Real World, Blake Krone’s Security in an Insecure World and Brett Hill’s Alternative Power Sources in Wireless. You can see more about last year’s talks at CWNPTV here: https://tinyurl.com/y2fhppaj. The Keynote was done by none other than Chuck Lukaszewski from Aruba, one of the greatest minds in the industry.

Since the bootcamp for the next certification (which I’ll talk about in my next post) will be offered for the first time at Trek, I don’t want to miss it. I am very lucky that my bosses agree to most of my training requests but with a couple of jealous coworkers who can whine on fairness of about just any topic (from boots to training) I’ve decided to try and fund this one myself. If you would like to help, you can benefit from a 5% rebate on the price of the Trek by registering with coupon code MAE10 (availlable from 23/03/2019 onwards!). This will give both of us a discount over the price of the conference and ensure we can have Wi-Fi fun in Nashville!

You can find out more about the event here: https://trek2019.com