Cisco has never been one to speak publicly at length about the big cheating industry that revolves around its certifications (it is the second most braindumped certification vendor on certification integrity company Certguard's list), with officials suggesting in December that it was an "isolated problem", but the company is now openly sharing its thoughts on and initiatives to combat Cisco test cheating. Cisco certification officials recently told Network World Senior Writer Jon Brodkin that not a week goes by that it's not evaluating information that they receive about cheating at Cisco test centers. Cisco also says it has folks dedicated to seeking out braindump sites that obtain and post answers to tests.

Brodkin writes:

Legal notices are sent to braindump sites that violate Cisco’s intellectual property, and if repeated letters are ignored, Cisco says it launches formal court actions to shut them down. The process can be relatively quick in North America and Western European countries with strong laws against violation of intellectual property, [says Erik Ullanderson, who manages Cisco’s certification program]. But in some cases it can take years to shut down a braindump site, he acknowledges.

Robert Williams, Certguard CEO and Network World IT Careers blogger, thinks Cisco hadn’t done enough in the past to target these Web sites, but believes Cisco now seems to be taking a harder line against exam shenanigans.

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