COVID-19 Member Support

[khalyk]

Hello,

Like many in our industry, I have had multiple in-person events cancelled that I rely on annually to maintain the required CPE's for my CCSP certification.

I've recently reached out to ISC2 member support to ask for an extension to my requirements. However, it seems by policy, ISC2 is not providing any leniency in terms of CPE reporting dates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: https://www.isc2.org/notice/COVID-19-Response. I have had poor response from Member Support to date on this, albeit this communication has been done via email and of course there is impact to ISC2 operations also due to COVID.

To be blunt, I have been a member in good standing for many years now and I find the (apparent) inflexibility of ISC2 in these times to be somewhat in poor taste. Even though I am past my submission deadline, I cannot add any additional CPE's. It seems that for the time being anyway, my credentials have not been revoked.

My question for ISC2 is two-fold:

1) What are you doing to support members such as myself, aside from simply saying "we offer a ton of CPE opportunities"?
2) If and when my credentials are revoked, what are the steps required to re-instate?

Thank-you!

[JKWiniger]

I was trying to let this go, but I guess not, it just bothers me. I find it to be in bad taste for you to try to blame the ISC2 if you could not be bothered to get your CPEs! I have done a lot of the things provide in the PDI and there are always so many ways to get CPEs. If your normal in person CPE events did not happen then it is up to you to find other way to get your CPEs. I have had my CISSP for 18 years and have never had an issue getting CPEs. We are security professionals and that requires us to be inventive and innovators. If you can't even figure out how to get enough CPEs I question your ability to think outside the box and find way to secure things. Yes, I am being a little harsh and I will even go as far as saying you might consider not getting your cert re-instated! Do not blame others for your short fall, it is up to you to manage things. You know you need them, you knew when they were do, stop trying to blame others and own your short coming, you will get a lot more respect that way!

If I am in wrong saying this I am sure others will correct me, but I don't think so...

John-

[dcontesti]

@khalyk

Here are a few ways that you can get CPEs fast:

1. Read the journals, and do the quizzes

2. Take some of the course offered through PDI

3.  Attend some of the free events offers both through (ISC)2 and other organizations.  (Chapter meetings are now virutal, so you could attend those)

4.  Attend a virtual vendor presentation

If this doesn't help, you could consider writing an article for either a blog (ISC)2 or an article for the journal.

We are all in the same situation, and gaining CPEs is difficult at the best of times but this year it seems even more daunting.

Hope that you are able to participate in a few of these, as you did not say how many CPEs that you are short.

Best of luck

d

[khalyk]

Hi @JKWiniger 

I am certainly not blaming ISC2, nor did I suggest that. The blame here is entirely my own. I have had less then ideal communication with member support, which is a separate issue on it's own.

I am also certain of is that a lot of people out there rely heavily on annual conferences and in-person events where we can accumulate a large amount of CPE's over several days. Some additional flexibility to complete is all I am asking for.

Perhaps some context would make this less bothersome for you - I am short only a few CPE's and am actively trying to complete them. However, despite several recent webinars I've attended, I cannot place these vs. my required hours as I am past the deadline. In this sense, I haven't been able to get a response from member support as yet as to how I can get back into being a member in good standing. This is my goal - despite your assurances that I'd be better off not pursuing this.

Thanks!

[CraginS]

---

@khalyk wrote:

Hi @JKWiniger 

I am certainly not blaming ISC2, nor did I suggest that. The blame here is entirely my own. I have had less then ideal communication with member support, which is a separate issue on it's own.

I am also certain of is that a lot of people out there rely heavily on annual conferences and in-person events where we can accumulate a large amount of CPE's over several days. Some additional flexibility to complete is all I am asking for.

Perhaps some context would make this less bothersome for you - I am short only a few CPE's and am actively trying to complete them. However, despite several recent webinars I've attended, I cannot place these vs. my required hours as I am past the deadline. In this sense, I haven't been able to get a response from member support as yet as to how I can get back into being a member in good standing. This is my goal - despite your assurances that I'd be better off not pursuing this.

Thanks!

---

Kirk,

1. Saying current on CPEs is our responsibility, not (ISC)2's.

2. Like @JKWiniger I have never had any problem completing CPEs since 2002, usually completing twice the required number each three year cycle, almost all of them free.

3. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of legitimate free videos online for CPE available from ISSA, OWASP, SANS, (ISC)2, BrightTalk, C-SPAN/Book-TV, and many other high quality sources. 

4. Every member should read and stay current on the CPE guide. See 

CPE Questions: Read This First!

5. You said, "I cannot place these vs. my required hours as I am past the deadline." As long as  you completed the activity before the end of your three year cycle, you can submit your CPE events for credit. You may need assistance from @tonyshiver or @AndreaMoore to load them into the system. 

Good luck!

Craig

[tonyshiver]

@khalyk Sending you a private message.

[JKWiniger]

@khalyk Thank you for the context, it does make a difference. Your first message seemed very different and was probably taken not as you intended. I believe this points out a lesson many of us are learning, which is, context and wording matter much more in text and email, and misunderstanding happen more easily. I believe since COVID has many more people working remotely there has no doubt be issue due to this.

I am sure you are right and many people do use conference and things like that for their CPEs. I do not think people should rely so heavily on them however. I am always looking for ways to learn new things and keep up with what comes out. To me it's not about getting CPEs as much as it is remembering to go and enter them into the system. I believe I am probably like about a year ahead on my CPEs so I simply stoped entering them. I do not believe the goal behind requiring CPEs is meant to be a burden but rather a way to encourage people to continue learning and help them to stay current. I am sure you will get your situation sorted out and I would encourage you to look into other ways to get CPEs on top of the event you normal go to. Others have already posted ideas so I don't need to go into that.

I believe we can all learn from this, that context in our message is very important and misunderstanding can happen a lot easier than in face-to-face or even phone calls. The tones, inflections, non verb statement are all missing in text and messages and it's so easy to read something in a way that it was not intended...

John- 

[denbesten]

Water under the bridge for @khalyk, but make your internal deadline the 30th month.  Excess CPEs earned in months 31 thru 36 can generally be applied to your next cycle.

So sayeth the CPE handbook:

Rollover CPEs
CPE rollover credits are limited to the number of recommended annual CPEs each year for that
credential, and must be earned within the last six months of the three-year certification cycle, in
excess of the required CPE credits for that certification. For example, a CISSP may only roll over
up to 40 Group A CPEs (in excess of the required 120 CPE credits) if they were earned within the
final 6 months of the previous three-year certification cycle. These rollover CPEs will be eligible to
satisfy the annual recommended CPEs for the first year of the next certification cycle. Note that
there is no rollover provision for Group B credits. 

---