Health Information Management

Should we look for CISSP, CISA, or other security certification when hiring a consultant to perform our HIPAA security assessments?

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, March 27, 2006

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HHS does not require the person assessing your security to have these credentials. Much like college degrees, people often hold these certifications on a pedestal and place a higher value on them than necessary. This isn't to say such certifications can't add value and prove a certain baseline of knowledge, but experience, combined with technical and business knowledge, are the best indicators that the person is right for the job.

Your best bet is to look at the applicant's history and check references. However, from a realist's perspective, having a certified individual performing your security assessments does look good on paper-especially in the eyes of executives, business partners, and customers.

Editor's note: Kevin Beaver, CISSP, security consultant with Acworth, GA-based Principle Logic, LLC, answered this question. This is not legal advice. Consult your attorney for legal matters.



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