Certification Glossary (2024)

FAQs

What is the proper definition of certification? ›

Certifications are designated credentials earned by an individual to verify their legitimacy and competence to perform a job. Your certification is typically displayed as a document stating that as a professional, you've been trained, educated and are prepared to meet a specific set of criteria for your role.

Compared to certificates, certifications tend to carry more weight and recognition in professional settings. This is because they are standardized and generally issued by nationally recognized organizations.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, is a non-regulatory federal agency under the Department of Commerce headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A NIST certification is important because it supports and develops measurement standards for a particular service or product.

There are three general types of certification. Listed in order of development level and portability, they are: corporate (internal), product-specific, and profession-wide. Corporate, or "internal" certifications, are made by a corporation or low-stakes organization for internal purposes.

synonyms: certificate, credential, credentials.

Risk maturity

If you're new or you're in the beginning stages of creating a security system, then getting a NIST CSF system is going to be the better choice here. For those that have a more mature system in place and need certification, ISO 27001 is going to be the way to go.

The HITRUST CSF is a comprehensive, flexible, and certifiable security and privacy framework used by organizations across multiple industries to efficiently approach regulatory compliance and risk management. This standard provides customers with confidence in knowing their data and confidential information are secure.

SOC 2 is a voluntary compliance standard for service organizations, developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), which specifies how organizations should manage customer data. The standard is based on the following Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, privacy.

For example, you can be certified to be a personal trainer at a gym. Licenses are typically given by the state government, after you undergo training and pass an exam. A license proves that you are qualified to work in a specific field. For example, you might get a state-issued license to be an electrician.

What is the most common certificate format? ›

PEM Format

PEM is the most common format in which Certificate Authorities (CA) issue certificates.

Answer From Brent A. Bauer, M.D. A doctor of osteopathic medicine, also known as a D.O., is a fully trained and licensed doctor. A doctor of osteopathic medicine graduates from a U.S. osteopathic medical school. A doctor of medicine, also known as an M.D., graduates from a traditional medical school.

A written assurance, or official representation, that some act has or has not been done, or some event occurred, or some legal formality been complied with.

Certification - A definition

Certification is a confirmation by a "third party" that requirements of e.g. international standards, industry specifications or technical rules are met. Certification is based on a conformity assessment in which the fulfillment of the requirements is checked.

certification. noun. cer·​ti·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌsərt-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən. : the act of certifying : the state of being certified.