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What's happening at ISACA Orange County — and across ISACA worldwide.

ISACA Orange County · News & Blogs

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Help shape ISACA's new cybersecurity certification — CCS beta closes 23 August

Sunday, August 2, 2026

ISACA is opening a closed beta for the Certified Cybersecurity Specialist (CCS), a new vendor-neutral certification aimed at early-career professionals, and they need 250 volunteers to help finish it. You'd work through the prep material at your own pace between 1 September and 2 November, sit the exam by 2 November, and fill in a short survey before and after. Some volunteers are also invited to a one-to-one chat with ISACA staff about what worked and what didn't. What you get: the beta sits at $199 rather than the full price, you earn 4 CPE for passing, and you're among the first people anywhere to hold it. What it costs you beyond that is honest effort — this is a real exam, and ISACA is relying on the feedback to get the final version right. Two details worth knowing before you sign up. The exam is at a PSI test centre only, so there's no remote proctoring option. And the sign-up deadline is 23 August, which is sooner than the September start date suggests. The certification covers security controls, secure design and security operations. If you've been meaning to add a security credential and would rather help build one than just sit it, this is the moment.

The new ISACA Orange County website is live — explore it in beta

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

The wait is over — the brand-new ISACA Orange County website is here, and we are opening it up for beta testing. We built it to be your home for everything chapter, and we would love for you to be among the first to explore it. Create your free account and here is what is waiting for you: Your profile, done in a minute • Add your ISACA membership number and we verify your chapter membership automatically — and if you sign up with the email ISACA has on file, we already recognize you. • Your certifications flow straight from ISACA Global, so there is nothing to type. • Add the year you joined ISACA and your first OC event — our long-time members and chapter OGs get a little recognition — and upload a headshot to appear in the member directory. Track your growth • Every chapter event you attend is logged toward your CPE, and your certificates are a click away to view or download anytime. • Follow your chapter journey — from member to volunteer to leadership — each step timestamped. Get involved • RSVP to upcoming events and see what is coming up. • Browse open volunteer and leadership roles and apply in a click. • Connect with fellow members in the directory, share and find roles on the job board, and read chapter news right here. More to explore • Ask the Chapter Assistant anything — membership, CPE, certifications, events, volunteering or sponsorship. • Meet the board and leadership, see our sponsors, chapter awards, SheLeadsTech and our academic partnerships. • Companies can become a sponsor entirely online — choose a package, e-sign and pay. This is a beta, so a few things are still coming together. If you spot something or have an idea, ask the Chapter Assistant or drop us a note on the Contact page — your feedback shapes what we build next. Come make it yours. We cannot wait to see you inside. — The ISACA Orange County board

Chapter blogs

Making sense of ISACA’s 2026 CPE policy

By ISACA OC Editorial Team · Saturday, July 25, 2026

Twenty hours a year minimum. One hundred twenty over three years, with at least ninety mapped to your certification’s exam content. Ten and thirty for the Advanced credentials. Report in MyISACA, pay the maintenance fee, keep your records for audit. That is the whole policy in one paragraph — but the details matter, especially the flexible thirty hours that can come from leadership, soft skills and volunteering. Yes: volunteering with this chapter counts, and chapter events post CPE to your dashboard automatically when you attend. We published a full digest on the certifications page, with a link to ISACA Global’s authoritative policy. Two minutes of reading now saves an audit headache later.

AI assurance is the next frontier — and AAIA is the credential for it

By ISACA OC Editorial Team · Saturday, July 25, 2026

Every organization is adopting AI faster than it can govern it. That gap — between adoption and assurance — is exactly where ISACA members work, and it is why ISACA launched the Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA) credential. AAIA covers the three domains practitioners actually face: AI governance and risk, AI operations, and AI auditing tools and techniques. If you hold a CISA and touch anything with a model in it, this is the natural next step. The chapter is running an intensive one-day AAIA Certification Review Course on September 2 at RSM in Irvine — eight CPE, experienced instructors, and a structured pass through all three domains. Seats are limited; register from the events page.

Welcome to the new isacaoc.com

By ISACA OC Editorial Team · Saturday, July 25, 2026

The chapter has a new digital home — and it does a lot more than look good. Members now get a personal dashboard with automatic CPE tracking from every chapter event, a verified member directory you control, an annual agreements workflow for volunteers and leaders, and a sponsor portal that takes a company from interest to invoice to payment without a single email chain. Everything on this site runs on one principle: a single source of truth. Your profile drives your public card. The ISACA roster drives your verified certifications. Cvent drives your event history. No duplicate data, no stale copies. Poke around, kick the tires and tell the board what you want next — this site is built to keep evolving with the chapter.