The availability of new objectives for its CompTIA Security+ certification was announced today by the leading provider of vendor-neutral certifications for the worlds technology workforce, The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

Detailing the content of the certification exam, publication of 2008 Edition objectives is a prelude to the launch of an updated CompTIA Security+ scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2008.

To assure that it addresses the latest changes in technology and reflects the skills needed by tech workers and required by employers, the update of CompTIA Security+ is in keeping with CompTIAs practice of continuous and ongoing review of its certification content.

Greater emphasis is being placed on knowing how to address specific security issues, rather than simply being able to recognize these issues, in the case of CompTIA Security+.

New additions to the exam are the Access Control and Assessments and Audits topics.

Including professional services, agriculture and food, information technology, telecommunications, government, and the United States military, organizations across a wide range of industries use CompTIA Security+ as a skills benchmark for staff members responsible for managing systems and network security.

More organizations are requiring security certifications such as CompTIA Security+ for their IT staff, as a 2008 CompTIA-commissioned survey of more than 2,000 individuals with responsibilities for information security found. About one-third of all organizations required security certification for employees in 2007. Thats an increase from the previous two years (26 percent in 2006 and 14 percent in 2005).

Because certified staff was better able to identify potential security risks proactively, and to respond more quickly to potential security issues, IT security certifications saved U.S. companies an average of more than $675,000 in 2007 as revealed by the study.