Cybersecurity specialists at government bodies will be required to upgrade their qualifications every two years

New requirements for cybersecurity personnel

In Uzbekistan, starting November 1, a new system of professional development and retraining for cybersecurity specialists is being introduced in government bodies, organizations, and legal entities with a state share of 50% or more in their charter capital. The procedure is established by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 594 of October 28, adopted on the proposal of the Ministry of Digital Technologies; training is conducted at the state-run Cyber University. This was reported by Gazeta.uz and Kun.uz.

How the training will be organized

Under the new procedure, employees responsible for cybersecurity must upgrade their qualifications at least once every two years. Responsibility for organizing the training of all responsible staff of the central office, territorial and subordinate structures lies with deputy heads of organizations in charge of digitalization and artificial intelligence. Specialists holding a foreign certificate recognized in the country are exempt from the courses for the duration of its validity; the list of such certificates and their validity periods is approved by the Ministry of Digital Technologies. Courses are held with or without time off from work, including remotely, and classes may also be held at the workplace upon an organization's request. The duration of professional development courses is 144 hours, and retraining courses at least 576 hours; a student's weekly classroom workload is limited to 36 hours.

Exams, documents and payment

Those who complete the courses take a final exam; successful students are issued an electronically generated certificate or diploma with a QR code. Those who fail the exam on the first attempt are given one retake within three months of the results being announced; upon a second failure, only a certificate of course participation is issued instead of a certificate. In that case, if the employee's position does not change, the organization must, within six months, either send them for training again or send another employee responsible for cybersecurity to the courses. Those dissatisfied with the exam results may file an appeal within five working days after the results are announced. Training is provided on a paid basis: expenses are covered by extra-budgetary funds of the sending organization or a higher authority, as well as other sources not prohibited by law.