Cisco Receives Award from National Security Agency for Meeting Federal Security Training Standards

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 9, 2003 - Cisco Systems, Inc.® today announced an award and formal certification from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) recognizing that Cisco security courseware meets the 4011 training standard for information assurance professionals in federal departments and agencies. Cisco is the only industry vendor to provide security training programs that meet the 4011 standard. The award was received yesterday at the annual Committee on National Systems Security Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia.

By working with CNSS to demonstrate how the Cisco security curriculum parallels the federal 4011 standard, the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Group (CIAG) and the Internet Learning Solutions Group (ILSG) teams at Cisco have provided the government and corporate sectors with a global training program capable of delivering a well trained workforce to oversee and protect critical infrastructures and networks.

"We're pleased to provide security training that is recognized by NSA and CNSS." said Rick Stiffler, Senior Manager, Emerging Technologies, Cisco Systems. "This certification enhances our ability to provide end-to-end solutions to government partners with comprehensive security products, services, and training scaled to meet their needs."

The recent report issued by the White House titled, "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace" stated that one of the major barriers to improving cyber security was "an inability to find sufficient numbers of adequately trained and/or appropriately certified personnel to create and manage secure systems." As a trusted advisor and partner with the federal government, Cisco will continue to develop training programs designed to improve the skills and knowledge level of federal information assurance professionals.

The CNSS represents a broad cross-section of federal departments and agencies and sets the training standards for information assurance professionals in the government and corporate sectors. The security of critical infrastructures depends largely on the readiness of its workforce, and the CNSS standards specify the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required to execute the duties and responsibilities of Information Systems Security professionals. These standards ensure that information assurance professionals are trained to oversee and protect national security information systems.

For more information, visit the "What's New" section of www.cisco.com/go/training.