The demand for cybersecurity professionals is continuously increasing over the last decades. And to earn certification in this field is the best way for your career advancement. Enrolling in these certifications and getting adequate information security training will help you reach the new heights in your career. So in this article, we will discuss the top 4 cybersecurity certification you can get in 2019.
1. Certified Information Systems Security Professional – CISSP
CISSP is presented by the International Information system Security Certification Consortium – ISC2. It is considered among the highly demanded and internationally recognized information security certifications. CISSP is among the advanced-level information security certifications and it is aimed at those individuals who are serious about a career in information security. This certification is designed to provide expert knowledge and technical skills to the candidate, which is required for effective design, manage and implement the best in a class cybersecurity program. Without any doubt, CISSP remains among the one of the highly sought after by IT pros.
Domains of CISSP: CISSP certification consist of eight domains that are:
- Asset Security – Covers about 10% of the CISSP exam.
- Security Architecture and Engineering – Compromise 13% of the CISSP exam.
- Security and Risk Management – This is the biggest domain and it covers about 15% of the CISSP exam.
- Security Assessment and Testing – Cover around 12% of the CISSP exam.
- Security Operation – Compromises about 13% of the CISSP exam.
- Identify and Access Management – Compromises about 13% of the CISSP exam.
- Software Development Security – It covers 10% of the CISSP exam.
Prerequisites and other requirements: An individual is required to have minimum working experience of 5 years in at least 2 of the eight common bodies of knowledge. As an alternative 4 years is allowed with a college degree or another related credential.
Optional Concentration: There is three optional CISSP concentration focusing on specific zones of interest which are:
- CISSP-ISSAP (Architecture)
- CISSP-ISSEP (Engineering)
- CISSP-ISSMP (Management)
Cost of certification: 699 USD for CISSP and 599 USD for each concentration.
2. Certified Information Security Manager – CISM
CISM certification is administered by ISACA (The Certified Information Security Manager Certification). It is a high-level certification and it is designed to target those professionals who are responsible for managing, developing and handling the information security system in the organizations. The holder of this certification has advanced and proven skills in program management and development, incident responses and management, security risk management, and governance. CISM is best for higher-earning and career advancement. According to recent studies, CISM ranks among the one the highest paying and sought after IT certification.
Domains of CISM: CISM certification consists of five domains that are:
- Information Risk Management – Covers about 22% of the CISM exam.
- Information Security Governance – Compromises around 23% of the CISM exam.
- Information Security Program Management – Compromises about 24% of the CISM exam.
- Information Security Program Development – It covers around 17% of the CISM exam.
- Incident Management and Response – Covers about 14% of the CISM exam.
Prerequisites and other requirements: The candidates must agree to the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics. The individual is required to hold at least five years of work experience in information security, including a minimum of three years of work experience in three or more of the job practice analysis areas in information security management.
Cost of certification: Exam fees for the members is 575 USD while the non-member is 760 USD.
3. Certified Ethical Hacker – CEH
Certified Ethical Hackers are those skilled professionals who know how to look for the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the target systems and apply the same knowledge, skills, techniques, and tools like a malicious hacker, but in a legal aspect to fix the deficiencies found it the target system.
Numerous enterprises have suffered from the shocking effects of hackers. They are continuously making new methods for attacking the information system which impacts the heavy losses to the organizations. For mitigating these types of threats and attacks, organizations are constantly looking for those skilled IT professionals who have the knowledge and techniques to beat hackers and protect the company’s information system.
CEH certification is administered by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council). This certification is suggested to those professionals who are looking to enhance their career in ethical hacking. CEH is designed to provide the techniques, skills, and knowledge in different areas on hacking practices like system hacking, scanning networking, Trojans, viruses and worms, sniffers, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering, enumeration, session hijacking, reconnaissance and footprinting, SQL injection, cryptography, hacking web servers, web applications, and wireless networks, evading IDs, honeypots, firewalls, and penetration testing.
Prerequisites and other requirements: It was highly recommended to get training. Without formal training, it was required to hold a minimum of 2 years of experience and educational background in information security.
Cost of certification: Exam fee is 500 USD and for self-studied students, an individual must have to pay an additional 100 USD for eligibility application fees.
4. CompTIA Security+
CompTIA Security+ is a well-known and internationally recognized certification. The holders of this certification have higher levels of technical knowledge and skills in diverse security-related disciplines. This certification is designed to provide an expert level of knowledge in different areas, including threat management, cryptography, identity management, security infrastructure, security risk identification and mitigation, network access control, and security systems. CompTIA Security+ is approved by the US Department of Defense.
Domains of CompTIA Security+: CompTIA Security+ is consist of 6 domains that are:
- Technologies and Tools – It compromises about 22% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- Attacks, Threat and Vulnerabilities – Covers around 21% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- Identify and Access Management – Compromises about 16% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- Design and Architecture – Compromises about 15% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- PKI and Cryptography – It covers around 12% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- Risk Management –Compromises about 14% of the CompTIA Security+ exam.
Prerequisites and other requirements: It was recommended to hold a minimum of 2 years of experience in IT administration.
Cost of certification: The cost of this certification is 339 USD.
Some other certifications that we have not added in the list are CCIE Security certification, CCNA Security certification, and CISA certification. You should also consider taking at least the training for these certifications like CCIE Security training or CCNA security training to learn some fundamentals.
