Roadhog

Which one, security qualifications or takeway food.... or maybe both?

Besides give me a Hardees any time over KFC.

But seriously I'd concur with Rosie, the CPP is definitely becoming more recognised, but the so are other qualifications like the MSC. I think it is fair to say that like a lot of other industries the days are truly gone of a security manager who has no accreditation and only experience. While experience is key, it comes down to proving that you know what you say you know.... and certifications are a good way of doing this.

Another point Rosie brought up about IT security brings with it a whole range of topics and questions. Like all of the security industry, the IT security side is certainly growing as a sector as well, and courses like the CISSP are good. However IT Security is a far more specialised environment and courses like the CISSP also need backing up with other courses or techinical knowledge as there are such specific demands within the exam for technical details, such as IP, routers etc. While there are general IT security guys, most have qualifications like MCSE, CCNA etc. There are very few IT security experts that specialise in multiple fields- eg Penetration Testing, Computer Forensics, Network security. If anyone is looking at IT security I would recommend looking at the core Microsoft Quals MCDST, MCSA, MCSE and then specialise in a particular field.