White Hat Wednesday: The Importance of Managed File Transfer Certification at the User Level

Don Miller

We all understand the necessity and importance of third party certifications for vendors that sell Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions and services.   At bTrade, our MFT solutions are FIPS 140-2 certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”), and thus approved for use in government departments and regulated industries that transmit and store sensitive information.  While these types of certifications are critical to companies when purchasing MFT technology, it is also critical that the employees who are tasked with implementing and supporting these solutions have the necessary ongoing training and certification to stay current and up-to-date on best practices.

New Certification Launched for Managed File Transfer Professionals

On September 8, 2014, a new certification program for MFT professionals, called “Certified File Transfer Professional,” was launched by Jonathan Lampe and an advisory board of nine industry experts.  The nine industry experts, a combination of vendors and enterprise level customers, worked together to create the managed file transfer training and certification program targeted to companies that need to hire and/or retrain their IT transmissions personnel.

We are very excited that Clifton Gonsalves, Vice President of Engineering at bTrade, was certified as a CFTP.  He was also selected to be a member of the CFTP advisory board, and in that capacity, was able to contribute to the overall design and launch of this certification program.  He will remain an advisor to this program and can be emailed directly with any questions you might have about CFTP certification or general MFT inquires.

What Does CFTP Certification Entail?

Per the CFTP website, training is geared towards “MFT, Secure File Transfer, Adhoc File Transfer and FTP server administrators” To become certified, one must receive a passing score on a 60-question multiple choice test.  All resources (written and video), as well as a detailed study guide, are provided via the website.   All those certified are, according to the CFTP website, “qualified to evaluate, deploy, configure and maintain managed file transfer and secure file transfer technology.”  

Next Steps

This vendor-neutral certification program is founded on the premise of “how do we find and train people who understand MFT?”  As the program progresses, it is hoped that it will become a beneficial training tool, not only for customers implementing MFT technology, but also for those vendors who understand the importance of training their internal resources.

For more information about becoming CFTP certified, please visit the Certified File Transfer Professional website.

If you have any questions regarding managed file transfer technology and solutions, please visit bTrade.