CIPP®, CIPM® & CIPT® — Your complete guide to IAPP certification

Any information that is stored digitally must be protected; Data Protection is not just a legal necessity, it’s crucial to safeguarding and maintaining your business.

Failing to comply with Data Protection laws can be costly. Affected customers or staff can pursue compensation against your business, which may subject you to GDPR fines.

As a result, Data Protection Officers are in demand and so are quality certifications such as those from the International Association of Privacy Professionals, also known as IAPP. 

What is IAPP?

IAPP provide information privacy certifications built for professionals who manage, handle, and access personal data.

With over 80,000 members in 149 countries, IAPP is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to information privacy and practitioners.

IAPP offers accredited certifications in Information Privacy; certifications from IAPP carry the ANSI/ISO standard 17024:2012.

“Our commitment to ensuring the highest of standards for our certifications is demonstrated through our ANSI accreditation to the rigorous ISO standards. This global, gold standard sets us apart with the world’s first and only accredited global certification in information privacy. This is something we take very seriously,” said Alyssa Rosinski, IAPP Director of Global Channel and Partners.

What certifications do IAPP provide?

IAPP currently manage three privacy certifications, CIPP®, CIPM®, and CIPT®. Let’s take a closer look.

1. IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional® (CIPP®)

The Certified Information Privacy Professional® (CIPP®) builds knowledge in compliance and risk mitigation practices.

In the vendor’s words, the CIPP® encompasses the “what” of privacy, and why it’s required within the organisation. Active for more than 15 years, the CIPP® is recognised among the top business privacy qualifications.

As privacy laws vary around the world and across the public and private sectors, the CIPP® is available in five different concentrations:

• Asia (CIPP/A®) 
• Canada (CIPP/C®) 
• Europe (CIPP/E®) 
• US private-sector (CIPP/US®) 

Achieving the CIPP® proves that you understand privacy laws and regulations and how to apply them within your region or sector.

CIPP® will also provide you with a solid understanding of broad privacy and data protection concepts, including jurisdictional laws, regulations and enforcement models; essential privacy concepts and principals; legal requirements for handling and transferring data, and more.

2. IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager® (CIPM®)

The IAPP CIPM® is the first certification in privacy programme management and designates you as your organisation’s go-to privacy professional.

Explained by the IAPP, the CIPM® is the “how of privacy operations” and emphasises why businesses require it. This certification covers a wide body of knowledge (BOK) across information privacy.

Earning a CIPM® proves that you not only understand privacy regulations but you know how to make them effective within your organisation.

You’ll learn how to structure a business privacy team, develop a privacy program framework, and communicate clearly with stakeholders.

3. IAPP Certified Information Privacy Technologist® (CIPT®)

Tech professionals worldwide must factor data privacy and protection into their products and services. If you work in IT, security, engineering, audit or data management and must build knowledge in privacy, the CIPT® certification is ideal.

Like other IAPP certifications, CIPT® represents a first: it’s the only certification designed to build information privacy skills for technical professionals.

The CIPT® certification proves you’ve got the knowledge to build an organisation’s privacy structure. Whether you work in the public or private sectors, data privacy skills are a must-have, and that represents an opportunity for you.

Achieve CIPT® and you’ll learn how to bake privacy into the development stage for applications and services, how to establish privacy practices for data collection and how to properly communicate privacy issues with partners, marketing and legal departments.

For a full look at the skills you’ll learn on your journey to CIPT® certification, see the course spec.

How can you get IAPP-certified?

At Firebrand, you can take IAPP certification courses onsite, at our distraction-free training facilities or in the centre of major UK cities, as well as online, through live instructor-led training (nothing is prerecorded).

“Partnering with a leader in the training industry, such as Firebrand, was important to expand our reach and introduce their customer base to the IAPP and our training and certification program,” says Alyssa.

You can achieve certifications such as:

• IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager® (CIPM®) – 2 Days
• IAPP Certified Information Privacy Technologist® (CIPT®) – 2 Days
• IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional — Europe® (CIPP/E®) – 2 Days
• IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional® & Certified Information Privacy Manager® (CIPP/E® and CIPM® combined course) – 4 Days

As well as IAPP's latest certification, the IAPP Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional® (AIGP®).

How to become a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP)

If you'd like to take your privacy skills to the next level, you can become an IAPP Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP).

To do this, you must earn a CIPP® designation as well as either a CIPM®, CIPT® or AIGP® and supplement your application with work experience and referrals.

FIP will elevate your profile as a privacy professional and could open doors to opportunities like advisory board consideration or public speaking requests.

Achieve your IAPP certification with Firebrand

For the past 14 years in a row, we’ve been named one of the Top 20 IT Training Companies in the World.

We offer accelerated courses and training solutions from key players in the tech space.

Could one of them be right for you?

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