CompTIA

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CompTIA

Basic information
Founded	1982
Type	Non-Profit
Industry	Information Technology
Official website	https://comptia.org/

CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associations. Founded on January 1, 1982, it is based in Downers Grove, Illinois. CompTIA issues vendor-neutral professional certifications in over 120 countries.

Controversies

Lobbying against Right to Repair

In March of 2017, CompTIA lobbied against a Right to Repair legislation in Nebraska, claiming:

Hackers are constantly trying to break into a wide range of devices, including computers, servers, smartphones, and other industrial and consumer electronics. Any weakening of the current standards, including sharing sensitive diagnostic tools and proprietary hardware data, could expose customers to risk. Manufacturers also have strong concerns about unauthorized independent service providers who may take risks or cut corners and provide service without training or following safety standards. Additionally, manufacturers make significant investments in the development of products and services, and the protection of intellectual property is a legitimate and important aspect of sustaining the health of all industry, including third party software developers who rely upon the device's DRM to protect their software from hackers. However, the bill compromises the intellectual property that creators invested heavily in to develop.

In February of 2020, CompTIA stepped back from all lobbying activities related to Right to Repair legislation.

Certification expiration

Historically, CompTIA promoted its high-end certifications of A+, Network+, and Security+ as lifetime. In January of 2011, the company altered the status of such certifications, so they would expire within three years. According to this proposal, certified professionals would either need to re-certify for the exams or pay an annual maintenance fee to participate in a CEU (Continuing Education Units) program. CompTIA then updated the guidelines to have only the certificates earned after January 1, 2011 renewed every three years, with the requirement of documented hours of continuing education. Certificates earned prior to 2011 are still valid for lifetime and rightfully referred to as Good-for-Life, so replacing the Good-for-Life certification with an expirable one does not devalue the Good-for-Life certification.

Controversy	Year	Background Info	Aftermath	Related Article	Related Video(s)