9/26/2006 -- Cisco Systems recently announced on its Web site that it has launched an updated Securing Cisco Network Devices (SND) exam as well as a new security-related specialty title.

The new SND exam (#642-552) covers "implementing basic authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA), Cisco Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Protection System (IDS/IPS) sensors, Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrators, and employing access control lists (ACLs)," the company said. Detailed blueprints are available here.

The SND exam is required to achieve the company's mid-level Cisco Certified Security Professional as well as several of its security-related Qualified Specialist certifications.

The company has also created a new specialty title around the updated exam: the Cisco Information Security Specialist. To achieve the new title -- which Cisco describes as entry-level -- candidates must pass only the new SND exam.

According to Cisco, the new exam (and thus the new specialty) now meet the National Security Agency's CNSS 4011 training standard.

The updated SND exam is now available at Pearson Vue and Prometric testing centers worldwide for $125 (U.S.). The previous version of the exam (#642-551) is scheduled to retire at the end of this year.

To earn the Cisco Information Security Specialist, candidates must pass the new SND exam. For all other titles requiring SND, candidates have until the end of the year to choose between the old and new versions.

To view the official announcement of these changes, go here. -Becky Nagel