Certified data privacy solutions engineer (CDPSE): Requirements, examination, and price

What is the CDPSE certification and what does it entail?

The Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) credential focuses on the technical and governance aspects of privacy solution deployment. ISACA, a nonprofit professional group focusing on IT governance that offers a number of certifications, including the CISM, is offering it.

CDPSE is one of the newest certifications on the market, having debuted in May 2020 with no test requirement for early adopters; however this was no longer the case by late 2021. The new accreditation was created in response to what the organization saw as a void in the industrial environment. According to Kim Cohen, ISACA Senior Director of Credentialing, “modern privacy rules and regulations compel enterprises to embed privacy by design and by default into IT systems, networks, and applications.” “To do so, privacy experts must collaborate with software developers, system and network engineers, application and database administrators, and project managers to include data protection and security measures into new and current data processing environments. We created the CDPSE certification to encourage cross-functional collaboration amongst legal, policy, DBAs, engineers, software developers, and back-end and front-end professionals to promote privacy-enhanced design.”

That is, without a doubt, a vast mandate. Let’s have a look at the topics covered by a CDPSE certification before getting into the details of how to get one and how it could benefit your career.

Domains connected to CDPSE’s work

A CDPSE certification is intended to demonstrate proficiency in three primary areas, referred to by ISACA as “work-related domains.”

• Privacy governance: Governance, management, and risk management are all included.
• Privacy architecture: Infrastructure, apps, and software, as well as technological privacy measures, are all included.
• Data lifecycle: which encompasses data permanence as well as data purpose

Matt Stamper is the head of the ISACA San Diego Chapter and the CISO and executive advisor at Evotek. He was one of the first CDPSE holders, and he was especially fascinated by the breadth of knowledge represented by these fields. “In my opinion, the CDPSE was built from the ground up with an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach in mind.” he explains. “What’s great about the CDPSE is that it considers the lifetime and the architecture that surrounds it. It also incorporates governance measures, such as conducting data privacy impact studies and conducting third-party vendor evaluations.”

Certification criteria for CDPSE

In order to obtain CDPSE accreditation, you must complete three phases:

• Pass the CDPSE exam
• Remember to follow the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics.
• Demonstrate the required minimum work experience

In the following part, we’ll go through the exam in greater detail, but first, let’s talk about the job requirements. As previously said, CDPSE is a pretty high-level certification, thus those who possess it must demonstrate that they have real-world experience, not simply book smarts. To that aim, you must have at least three years of expertise in “the implementation of technical privacy by design solutions, control, or security work” in order to been certified. This experience should be relevant to the CDPSE work domains outlined in the preceding section.

To guarantee that you are at least somewhat up to date on industry trends, you must have accumulated this experience during the previous ten years before applying for the certificate. If you don’t have the required years of experience but are eager to take the exam, you can do so up to five years after passing the exam. (In reality, you won’t be able to apply for the certification until you pass the exam.) The application cost for this application is $50, and it is used to demonstrate your employment experience.

Once your CDPSE application is approved, you must follow ISACA’s Continuing Professional Education (CPE) programmer to keep your certification. After you’ve earned the certificate, you’ll need to complete at least 20 hours of CPE training every three years. Download the CDPSE CPE Policy (PDF) from ISACA for more information on how to achieve this requirement.

CDPSE exam

Nonetheless, like with other certifications, the test is at the center of the CDPSE certification process. The test has 120 multiple-choice questions and lasts three and a half hours. In the following proportions, the test covers the three CDPSE work-related areas:

• Privacy governance: 34%
• Privacy architecture: 36%
• Data lifecycle: 30%

You can take it in a PSI Exam Center or as an online proctored exam from the comfort of your own home; in the latter case, a proctor will be watching you through your camera, so be aware if that bothers you.

Check out ISACA’s exam candidate handbook and schedule guide, as well as information on specific accommodations, for further information.

If you want to get a feel for what the CDPSE test is like, there are some sample exam questions available. ISACA offers a ten-question practice test, and Edsum offers a comparable set of free sample questions. A full-length practice exam may also be purchased for a fee.

What does CDPSE cost?

The expenses of becoming CDPSE certified are broken down in detail by ISACA, but the essentials are as follows:

• The exam cost, which is $575 for ISACA members and $760 for non-members, is the first step. (ISACA membership dues are $135, so you’ll save money right away if you plan on taking one of their certification examinations this year.) After enrolling for the test, you have a year to take it, but you will not be reimbursed if you do not take it within that period.
• After passing the exam, you must formally apply to become CDPSE certified; the application cost is $50.
• After that, you must pay an annual maintenance charge to keep your certification in good standing. Members pay $45 and nonmembers pay $85 for this service.

CDPSE jobs: What is the purpose of CDPSE?

CDPSE, according to ISACA, is a certification that persons in or interested in a variety of work sectors would obtain:

• Consultants
• Data analysts
• Data scientists
• IT project manager
• Privacy advisor/manager
• Privacy analyst/engineer
• Privacy solutions architect
• Software engineer

But, just as privacy is crucial in practically every aspect of the contemporary organization, a privacy-focused certification like CDPSE is a plus for anybody whose job requires handling data—and that goes beyond traditional job silos. “If I hire someone with the CDPSE, that person has a really substantial body of knowledge,” says Stamper of Evotek. “It isn’t only a question of law, information technology, governance, or security. It’s a synthesis of all of those different realms and specialties.”