Cisco’s Journey to DoD 8140 Accreditation 

The CIO for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has recently issued DoD Manual 8140.03 Cyberspace Workforce Qualification & Management Program. This is a role-based approach to identify, develop, and qualify individuals who have federal work roles that align to the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF).  The new 8140 mandate will impact a larger number of federal employees and contractors, additionally vendors supporting programs may also need to qualify.      

As the world of Cybersecurity constantly changes, so do the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are associated with the technology. Therefore, the training needs to change to address these new threats to ensure they align with the new requirements. The Department of Defense (DoD) is in the process of transitioning from DoD 8570.01-m work roles and associated certifications to DoD 8140. Whereas previously, there were 14 work roles; there will now be 52 work roles.  Cisco is currently evaluating our existing certifications and how they align to the new DoD 8140 work roles.   

Cisco’s DoD 8570 Certifications 

Today, DoD 8570 IAT certifications are still in effect.  That means CCNA covers Information Assurance Tech (IAT) I & II (See DoD CIO waiver link) and CCNP Security covers IAT III.  Additionally, CyberOps Associate is on the DoD 8570 CSSP analyst and incident responder categories.  Please see the Cisco dedicated 8570 web page for information. 

Transition to 8140   

Cisco is preparing for the transition to 8140 by actively working with the DoD to align our certifications to the DCWF.   Cisco understands that this evolution of the framework is a major upgrade from the current DoD 8570.01-m Information Assurance Technician levels I, II, and III.  As mentioned above, the new framework will have over 52 work roles with more to come.        

The two Cyberspace Workforce Elements in DoD 8140 that Cisco will be focused on are:  Cyberspace IT Workforce and Cybersecurity Workforce.  These two elements encompass over 14 work roles that are at the heart of Cisco technology.  Specifically, CCNA, CCNP Enterprise, and CCNP Security certifications cover the job roles for build, configure, and operate. To round out the skill requirements in these job roles, the CyberOps Associate and CyberOps Professional certifications train individuals who secure, defend, and monitor networks.  

Stay tuned as Cisco and the DoD collaborate to bring the best in training and certifications to the market.   

Resources

1. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3299971/dod-cio-issues-dod-manual-8140/ 
2. https://dodcio.defense.gov/Cyber-Workforce.aspx

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