CompTIA Offers Security Assessment Tool

CompTIA, an association of IT solution providers, is offering a free tool designed to help organizations in all business sectors assess their information security status.

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The IT Security Assessment Wizard is designed to help IT companies work with their customers to build a security profile while educating them about security issues, says Scott Barlow, who chairs CompTIA's the IT Security Community. "It's a good opportunity for the solutions provider to educate their end-user customer on the risks that are out there today, and to demystify the complex technologies that go into securing an environment," Barlow says.

The security assessment tool is an online questionnaire that any IT company can use to help customers size up their security strengths and vulnerabilities. It addresses a broad range of issues, from BYOD to payment card security policies.

Once a customer fill out the questionnaire, they receive a report that explains what they're doing right and what security components they're missing. The assessment will then suggest tools and resources they can use to improve security, Barlow says.

The new tool is designed "to help boil all of the problems that they have to the surface, and then identify, 'I have X budget, and I have to solve these issues.' It's a prioritization exercise," Barlow says.

CompTIA plans to roll out two more phases of the IT Security Assessment Wizard. In the next phase, IT companies will be able to place the assessment tool on their websites and brand it as their own. Further down the road, Barlow expects the Wizard may be used for exporting data to a customer relationship management system.