Draft:McAfee Institute
| Founder | Joshua McAfee[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional certification and training organization |
| Headquarters | Chesterfield, Missouri, United States |
Chief executive officer | Joshua McAfee[1] |
| Website | www |
McAfee Institute is an American professional certification and training organization based in Chesterfield, Missouri.[2] It provides professional education and certification programs in intelligence, investigations, open-source intelligence, criminal investigation, counterintelligence, digital investigations, and related disciplines.[3]
In 2013, Inc. profiled the organization and its chief executive, describing McAfee Institute at the time as a business that trained corporations and law-enforcement agencies in cybercrime and fraud investigations.[4]
History
[edit]In 2013, Inc. described McAfee Institute as a Peoria, Illinois-based business providing cybercrime and fraud-investigation training to corporate and law-enforcement personnel.[4]
In the same profile, Joshua McAfee said that the organization's early work focused primarily on fraud detection and loss prevention in electronic commerce. He said McAfee Institute introduced a social-media investigation course in 2010 and that cases encountered through that training subsequently led to work involving human trafficking.[4]
The organization later expanded its certification offerings into a broader range of intelligence and investigative disciplines, including open-source intelligence, criminal investigation, counterintelligence, cyber investigations, all-source intelligence, social-media intelligence, cryptocurrency investigations, and human-trafficking investigations.[3]
Certification and training programs
[edit]McAfee Institute administers professional certifications and related training for intelligence, investigative, law-enforcement, security, and public-safety professionals.[3]
Independent publications have discussed several of its certifications. In 2019, ThoughtCo included McAfee Institute's Certified Cyber Intelligence Professional (CCIP) in an overview of computer-forensics and cyber-investigation certification programs. The publication described the program as covering cyber investigations, digital and mobile forensics, fraud, intelligence gathering, and legal fundamentals.[5]
Indeed's Career Guide includes McAfee Institute's Certified Professional Criminal Investigator (CPCI) among professional certifications available to law-enforcement personnel. Indeed describes the credential as covering investigative methodologies including terrorism, fraud, and interrogation and outlines education and professional-experience pathways for certification eligibility.[6]
In 2026, Research.com discussed McAfee Institute certifications in an article examining employer perceptions of online intelligence education. The article identified McAfee Institute credentials in open-source intelligence and cyber intelligence among professional certifications relevant to intelligence education and related professional development.[7]
In 2021, the Canadian Police Knowledge Network published the Competency-Based Management Framework for Digital Competencies in Canadian Policing as part of a project funded in part through Public Safety Canada's Cyber Security Cooperation Program.[8] The report surveyed available training corresponding to digital competencies used in Canadian law enforcement. It identified McAfee Institute's Certified Social Media Intelligence Expert and Certified Social Media Intelligence Analyst programs among open-source intelligence training options for online internet-based investigators.[8]
The report also identified McAfee Institute's Certified Expert in Cyber Investigations program as training relevant to the cybercrime-investigator competency profile, while noting that some subject matter in the program was less directly applicable to that particular competency profile.[8]
McAfee Institute has also appeared in scholarly discussion of professional human-trafficking education. In an article in Development and Change examining the marketization of contemporary anti-slavery activity, Siobhan McGrath and Fabiola Mieres identified McAfee Institute among institutions in the United States and United Kingdom offering paid training concerning trafficking and slavery.[9]
Cybersecurity author Martin Lee included McAfee Institute's Certified Cyber Intelligence Investigator (CCII) and Certified Cyber Intelligence Professional (CCIP) among examples of professional cyber-threat-intelligence certifications in his 2023 book Cyber Threat Intelligence, published by Wiley.[10]
Military credentialing
[edit]McAfee Institute credentials are included in professional-development and credentialing resources maintained by the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense.
The Navy's Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs) are career-development documents outlining training and education milestones for enlisted personnel by rating and pay grade. The Naval Education and Training Command has described LaDRs as covering assignments, professional military education, advanced education, and professional credentialing and has stated that recommended training and credentials included in LaDRs are vetted by their respective Navy occupational communities.[11]
McAfee Institute's Certified Executive Leader (CEL) credential is listed in LaDRs for multiple Navy occupational communities, including Special Warfare Boat Operators, Engineering Aides, Equipment Operators, Information Systems Technicians specializing in submarine electronic warfare, and Naval Aircrewmen in tactical-helicopter assignments.[12][13][14]
The Department of Defense's Credentialing Opportunities On-Line system separately identifies McAfee Institute as the certifying agency for the Certified in Open Source Intelligence (C/OSINT) credential. Army COOL classifies the credential as a national certification and describes its education or professional-experience, examination, and continuing-education requirements.[15]
Navy COOL separately lists C/OSINT and identifies McAfee Institute as the credential's certifying agency.[16]
These sources document the inclusion of individual McAfee Institute credentials within military career-development and credentialing systems; they do not constitute a general endorsement of McAfee Institute by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy.
Government certification and training listings
[edit]The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, part of the Communications Security Establishment, includes McAfee Institute in its publication Certifications in the Field of Cyber Security.[17] The guide contains a section on McAfee Institute and descriptions of several certifications offered by the organization.[17]
The Canadian Centre states that the guide is provided for informational purposes and that inclusion does not constitute endorsement or recommendation of a certification body or credential.[17]
McAfee Institute courses have also been included in the Education and Training Catalog maintained by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS), a program of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.[18]
NICCS states that presence in its Education and Training Catalog does not imply endorsement of specific commercial products, processes, or services.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Welcome to McAfee Institute – Start Here First". McAfee Institute. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Contact Us". McAfee Institute. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "About McAfee Institute". McAfee Institute. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Lapowsky, Issie (August 20, 2013). "How A Data-Sleuth Helps Battle Human Trafficking". Inc. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ Reuscher, Dori (February 18, 2019). "How to Become a Cyber-Investigator". ThoughtCo. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ Indeed Editorial Team (June 16, 2026). "9 Law Enforcement Certifications To Advance Your Career". Indeed Career Guide. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ Bouchrika, Imed (May 11, 2026). "2026 Are Online Intelligence Degrees Respected by Employers?". Research.com. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Beesley, Paul (June 2021). Competency-Based Management Framework for Digital Competencies in Canadian Policing (PDF) (Report). Canadian Police Knowledge Network. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ McGrath, Siobhan; Mieres, Fabiola (2022). "The Business of Abolition: Marketizing 'Anti-slavery'". Development and Change. 53: 3–30. doi:10.1111/dech.12701.
- ↑ Lee, Martin (2023). Cyber Threat Intelligence. John Wiley & Sons. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-119-86174-4.
- ↑ "Certified in Open Source Intelligence (C/OSINT)". Army Credentialing Opportunities On-Line. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Certifications in the field of cyber security". Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. Communications Security Establishment. 2026. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "McAfee Institute". National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Add Your Courses to NICCS". National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Retrieved August 19, 2026.