Trust-Formation Officer (TFO) is a cybersecurity certification aimed to Spanish-speaking CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers), issued by Spanish non-profit association ISMS Forum Spain.
This post tries to cover some aspects regarding the TFO certification. It covers the first cycle of the certification, that lasts from 2021 to 2025.
The TFO conditions and requirements may change as time goes by. This post was last updated on February 2023
FAQs about TFO Certification
Who issues TFO Certification?
ISMS Forum Spain, also known as Spanish Association for the Promotion of Information Security (in Spanish, Asociación Española para el Fomento de la Seguridad de la Información), is a Spanish non-profit association of cybersecurity companies and professionals founded in 2006.
The goal of the association is promoting the development, knowledge and culture of information security in Spain.
ISMS Forum Spain has a section dedicated to training called CISO Academy. CISO Academy develops the contents of TFO certification.
You can find more information about ISMS Forum Spain on the ISMS Forum Spain official website.
ISMS Forum Spain started as the Spanish chapter of the international association ISMS International User Group (IUG), but it seems that the latter no longer exists.
In 2007, ISMS Forum Spain became the Spanish chapter of the international association Information Security Forum (ISF). You can find more information about ISF on ISF official website.
Who is TFO for?
TFO is aimed to Spanish-speaking CISOs or cybersecurity professionals that are looking forward a CISO career.
The goal of TFO is, according to ISMS Forum Spain, “to empower CISOs”.
Who can obtained TFO Certification?
TFO is not a public certification. It is offered only by invitation by the ISMS Forum Spain.
ISMS Forum Spain calls randomly people who are related to the association. You need to have a paid membership in the association or at least have made a free registration.
How much cost to get TFO Certification?
As of 2023, ISMS Forum Spain does not charge any cost to candidates and assumes all direct costs.
Indirect costs, like transportation, computer to attend the courses, etc., are assumed by the candidate.
What is the content of TFO?
On TFO’s first edition (2021-2025), the TFO consisted on 6 blocks:
- Cloud
- Business Continuity
- Digital Transformation
- Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
- CISO and the executive board
- Professional experience
The first four blocks are focused on cybersecurity hard skills.
The 5th block is related to CISO soft skills.
The 6th is not about getting knowledge, but getting professional experience on the previous blocks.
How long does the TFO take?
TFO certification is offered in a 5-year cycle.
The first 4 blocks (hard skills) take 2 years.
The 5th block (soft skills) may take 6 months.
The last block (professional experience) must be finished within 2 years.
It seems that as candidates quit the TFO certification they are replaced by new candidates, that need to catch up all the materia already imparted.
What are the requirements to get TFO Certification?
Requirements to get the certification in 2021-2025 cycle:
- Passing the exams
- Complete individual training
- Professional experience
Passing the Exams
After each hard skill block (first 4 blocks) you need to complete an exam.
It consists of 20 questions. You need to get a 70% of correct answers to pass it.
Blocks 5 and 6 do not require to pass an exam.
Complete Individual Training
You need to get individual work related to the module.
The individual work must be completed within the 6 months of the block.
Get Professional Experience
You need to get 30 points of professional experience in the period of 24 months.
Only specific professional activities provide points, as for example, writing a book or an article, or doing a seminar, always about the subjects. There is a maximum of points obtained by activities, so the candidates needs to combine different activities in order to get all necessary points.
Does TFO requires maintenance in order to be kept?
Yes, TFO requires maintentence in order to be kept.
There are not yet details about how to maintain the certification
How do I maintain TFO?
As of 2023, the first TFO certification cycles is not finished, so nobody has yet obtained TFO.
Maintenance conditions have not been defined yet.
How can I get support about TFO?
You can contact the people in charge of TFO through this e-mail address:
External References
- Trust-Formation Officer Certification; “Trust-Formation Officer Certification“; Trust-Formation Officer Certification
- ISMS Forum; “ISMS Forum pone en marcha la CISO Academy y la certificación Trust-Formation Officer“; ISMS Forum (Spanish)