What standards are there for testing? What about certification? Are there useful web resources for QA professionals?

Standards for any piece of software being tested depend on the multiple factors.  The software solution's purpose and environment specifically dictates the level of testing and certification necessary.  Consider a piece of software that runs a heart monitor within an operating room, this piece of software is mandated to meet certain health information standards.  Standards like extensive testing and information certification are two crucial aspects to such a system that runs in an important environment.  Another area where standards for testing and certification exist are seen in fail-proof systems, Airline navigation and landing gear, altimeters and cockpit pressure regulators, these too run in an environment where the system cannot afford to fail.  NASA's manned an unmanned space exploration projects are also subject to this same level of testing and necessary certification.  Being far away from Earth, even a small software bug could ruin billions worth in investments, blemishing the reputation of NASA and putting their entire association in jeopardy.  NASA is a specific case, being a government entity they set their own standards for certification and testing to reach their desired quality, but in the private sector oftentimes if the software is any way attached to sensitive information and/or crucial systems, governments tend to set these standards to reflect good practices.  Looking back to the heart monitor example,  having previously worked for a company that developed software for the emergency room, it is not uncommon to have a heart monitor linked to a much larger automated system of vitals tracking.  This tracking of vitals presumably can be found online with other personal information this is useful to both doctors, patients and practitioners alike.  Due to patient-doctor confidentiality in the United States, in 1996 the United States Department of Health and Human Services realized the increase in health information technology and passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.  This standard for health information technologies was put in place to ensure that all patient related information used in health systems would be encrypted, viewable only by the parties involved, or destroyed depending on the age of the data.  Experiencing a company ensuring HIPPA compliance first hand during my tenure at a health IT provider, it was easy to see how the standards shaped the work environment through a rippled effect that started all the way from our in-house IT to the testing and development teams.  Everyone was mindful of the standards in place and the importance of it all.  Testing to ensure that these standards were met was not my particular duty, though it was evident in the software.  The government's respective departments often hold similar standards to other forms of software.  The Federal Communications Commission has standards on the internet, various radio wavelengths, The Food and Drug Administration have testing regulations and standards for manufacturers of drugs, agriculture, horticulture.  Sources to this information on standards for testing and certification are all existent online via the department's website.