Certificate helps cyber professionals globally validate their expertise in one of the industry’s most in-demand skills
ISC2 the world’s leading nonprofit member organization for cybersecurity professionals announced the Cloud Security Architecture Strategy Certificate, which will help cybersecurity professionals develop knowledge and strategies for designing, implementing and managing secure cloud environments. Professionals can earn this certificate to demonstrate their ability to support cloud innovation while mitigating evolving cybersecurity risks.
According to ISC2 research, cybersecurity hiring managers and non-hiring managers ranked cloud computing security as the top technical skill needed among dozens of technical skills in 2023 and 2024 studies. While the 2025 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study found that AI surpassed cloud security as the top skills need this year, cloud security remains sought-after for building resilient teams; 36% of all respondents (i.e., both hiring managers and non-hiring professionals) cited cloud security as their top skills need—second only to AI.
Top skills need cited by cybersecurity hiring managers
Among the 2025 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study respondents who manage security teams, (29%) mentioned cloud security as the top technical skill they look for when hiring, followed by AI (27%) and security engineering (24%). This year’s survey findings suggest that gaining cloud security skills remains a compelling way to stand out when pursuing job and career opportunities.
“ISC2 continually tracks the skills that are most in-demand and then builds solutions for members and the broader community to learn and demonstrate their expertise,” said ISC2 Chief Operating Officer Casey Marks. “Pursuing ISC2’s new cloud certificate gives mid-career and advanced professionals, including both practitioners and leaders, breadth across technical, governance and leadership viewpoints.”
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A cohesive certificate for experienced professionals
The certificate emphasizes trending topics in a cohesive format, covering four vendor-neutral courses. The courses include:
- Multicloud Security Strategies: 3 CPE credits; intermediate proficiency
- Cloud Governance, Risk Management and Compliance: 3 CPE credits; intermediate proficiency
- Cloud Security for Business Leaders: 2 CPE credits; intermediate proficiency
- Zero Trust Architecture in Cloud Environments: 3 CPE credits; advanced proficiency
After successfully completing all four on-demand courses, totaling approximately 11 hours of learning, and passing the course assessments, learners are awarded the ISC2 Cloud Security Architecture Strategy Certificate digital badge on Credly. Learners can purchase the courses individually or as a bundle and take them in any order. ISC2 members may receive a d*******.
Designed for more experienced professionals, the certificate complements ISC2’s more comprehensive Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification, which validates advanced knowledge, skills and abilities across cloud security domains. The certification demonstrates professionals have the advanced technical skills and knowledge to design, manage and secure data, applications and infrastructure in the cloud. While CCSP requires at least five years of relevant work experience and a rigorous exam, the new certificate provides targeted professional development for those looking to deepen practical cloud security expertise and strategic capabilities.
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