This seminar is intended to provide solution providers and other tech professionals an overview and open discussion of the newly released CompTIA Security Trustmark and the newly released 7^th Annual Security Research Study. 

The CompTIA Security Trustmark business level accreditation covers security business capabilities and processes  that have been agreed upon by the industry to promote best security business practices.  Mainly developed as a baseline standard of security practices around service and support business competencies for Solution Providers, the CompTIA Security Trustmark process can apply to just about any service-focused business.  Areas covered during the seminar will include key components of the accreditation process as well as discussion on the impact it has on vendors, solution providers, end users, and the IT industry as a whole.  Business level accreditation is fast becoming a an important business differentiator.
        
Discussion will also include an overview of CompTIA’s 7th Annual Security Research Study- Trends in Information Security: an Analysis of IT Security and the Workforce.

• Information security is considered a top priority by management in 80% of US companies and as many as 75%-85% of companies in the UK, India and China. 
• The most significant costs of security breaches remains the overall impact on employee productivity. About one-third of U.S. respondents cite loss productivity as the top consequence of a breach, followed by a disruption of revenue-generating activities.
• The primary cause for the most severe security breaches remains unintentional in nature and typically caused by human error. This demonstrates a need for more employee trainings and deeper knowledge of technology functions.    
• Almost all U.S. respondents (87%) note improvements in security when their organizations provide security training for non-IT employees, notably through increased awareness and proactive risk identification.
• The number of organizations where IT security certification is required continues to grow – particularly for current employees (32% in 2008 compared to 20% in 2006).
• Most respondents feel that IT security certification for IT staff improves security, especially through risk identification and quick response to security issues