5 Reasons to Hire Credentialed Professionals

Here in Malaysia clients have lot of concerns about security, I am sure this is a common concerns in most parts of the world and with the IT playing a major role in all aspects of life.. the information security role will be as important as others.. Here is a nice article I found in one of my mails. 



The need for heightened information security measures has never been greater. To date, more than 60,000 certified professionals and their employers have learned to protect the enterprise and outmaneuver cyber attacks the (ISC)² way. There are 5 major reasons why an organization should employ credentialed professionals when recruiting information security personnel.

• Experience: Credentialed professionals have already gained years of experience in the industry and have met a prescribed educational standard.

• Continuing Professional Education (CPE): This ensures candidates must continue their education and prepare to handle the onslaught of ever-changing information security challenges with new and innovative alternatives to the status quo.

• Certification Mandate: More and more organizations - public and private, such as the U.S. Department of Defense and financial institutions, are now requiring certification for their information security personnel. If you are a service provider or subcontractor you will need to employ certified staff as well.  Having employees with superior credentials puts your organization in a position of strength and presents a positive light.

• Global Recognition: Hiring managers are literally bombarded with resumes from around the world. However internationally recognized qualifications, such as CISSP^® and SSCP^® as opposed to nationally recognized qualifications, automatically raise the bar allowing you to judge the credentials of each candidate more equitably.

• Common Language: Vendor-specific credentials can be very limiting when new technologies are introduced. Conversely, (ISC)² credentials are universal circumventing all ambiguity with industry-accepted knowledge as well as current trends.

The CISSP certification is held by information security professionals who develop policies, standards, and procedures as well as manage the implementation across the enterprise. A major point that sets the CISSP apart from other security certifications is the breadth of knowledge and the experience necessary to pass the exam. A CISSP candidate cannot specialize in just one domain; they must know and understand the full spectrum of the (ISC)² CISSP CBK^® to become certified. What's more, in order to maintain their certification, CISSP's are required to earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits every year.

About (ISC)²

The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. [(ISC)²^®] (pronounced as "I-S-C-squared") is the globally recognized Gold Standard for educating and certifying information security professionals. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, (ISC)² issues CISSP^®and related concentrations CISSP-ISSAP^® /ISSEP^® /ISSMP^®, CSSLP^CM, CAP^®, and SSCP^®credentials; offers a portfolio of award winning education products and services based upon (ISC)²'s CBK^®, a compendium of information security topics, and is responsible for the (ISC)² Global Information Security Workforce Study.

More information is available at www.isc2.org. 

Five elements of Every Steve Jobs Presentation

I want to share this Friday learning article which I received from my boss.. There are 2 good things in this article.. content and mention of Steve Jobs... Hope you guys like this.


Steve Jobs does not sell computers; he sells an experience. The same holds true for his presentations that are meant to inform, educate, and entertain. An Apple presentation has all the elements of a great theatrical production—a great script, heroes and villains, stage props, breathtaking visuals, and one moment that makes the price of admission well worth it. Here are the five elements of every Steve Jobs presentation. Incorporate these elements into your own presentations to sell your product or ideas the Steve Jobs way.
1. A headline. Steve Jobs positions every product with a headline that fits well within a 140-character Twitter post. For example, Jobs described the MacBook Air as "the world's thinnest notebook." That phrase appeared on his presentation slides, the Apple Web site, and Apple's press releases at the same time. What is the one thing you want people to know about your product? This headline must be consistent in all of your marketing and presentation material.
2. A villain. In every classic story, the hero fights the villain. In 1984, the villain, according to Apple, was IBM (IBM). Before Jobs introduced the famous 1984 television ad to the Apple sales team for the first time, he told a story of how IBM was bent on dominating the computer industry. "IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple." Today, the "villain" in Apple's narrative is played by Microsoft (MSFT). One can argue that the popular "I'm a Mac" television ads are hero/villain vignettes. This idea of conquering a shared enemy is a powerful motivator and turns customers into evangelists.
3. A simple slide. Apple products are easy to use because of the elimination of clutter. The same approach applies to the slides in a Steve Jobs presentation. They are strikingly simple, visual, and yes, devoid of bullet points. Pictures are dominant. When Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, no words could replace a photo of a hand pulling the notebook computer out of an interoffice manila envelope. Think about it this way—the average PowerPoint slide has 40 words. In some presentations, Steve Jobs has a total of seven words in 10 slides. And why are you cluttering up your slides with too many words?
4. A demo. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain gets bored easily. Steve Jobs doesn't give you time to lose interest. Ten minutes into a presentation he's often demonstrating a new product or feature and having fun doing it. When he introduced the iPhone at Macworld 2007, Jobs demonstrated how Google Maps (GOOG) worked on the device. He pulled up a list of Starbucks (SBUX) stores in the local area and said, "Let's call one." When someone answered, Jobs said: "I'd like to order 4,000 lattes to go, please. No, just kidding."
5. A holy smokes moment. Every Steve Jobs presentation has one moment that neuroscientists call an "emotionally charged event." The emotionally charged event is the equivalent of a mental post-it note that tells the brain, Remember this! For example, at Macworld 2007, Jobs could have opened the presentation by telling the audience that Apple was unveiling a new mobile phone that also played music, games, and video. Instead he built up the drama. "Today, we are introducing three revolutionary products. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device…an iPod, a phone, an Internet communicator…an iPod, a phone, are you getting it? These are not three devices. This is one device!" The audience erupted in cheers because it was so unexpected, and very entertaining. By the way, the holy smokes moment on Sept. 9 had nothing to do with a product. It was Steve Jobs himself appearing onstage for the first time after undergoing a liver transplant.
6.One more thing…sell dreams. Charismatic speakers like Steve Jobs are driven by a nearly messianic zeal to create new experiences. When he launched the iPod in 2001, Jobs said, "In our own small way we're going to make the world a better place." Where most people saw the iPod as a music player, Jobs recognized its potential as a tool to enrich people's lives. Cultivate a sense of mission. Passion, emotion, and enthusiasm are grossly underestimated ingredients in professional business communications, and yet, passion and emotion will motivate others. Steve Jobs once said that his goal was not to die the richest man in the cemetery. It was to go to bed at night thinking that he and his team had done something wonderful. Do something wonderful. Make your brand stand for something meaningful.

All of us can improve our presentation skills, if we apply ourselves. In the race to excellence there is no finish line.

Article by: Sandeep Bhattacharya

My first canvas painting

The photo that my wife took - she asked me to paint this

My painting

For the last two Saturday's I have been sitting in with my son in his art class; well not near him, but in the outside area, and guess what I was doing?????
I was attempting my first canvas painting. I used acrylics for this time.
My wife challenged me by asking me to paint one of the photographs that she had clicked some time back during our outing at the Mines Park.
I spent some 7 hours doing this; and as said before I did it over 2 Saturdays.

The teachers at the art school did help and guide me during this attempt. Their help did wonders to the painting.

Do let me know what you think of this painting....I'll be waiting !!