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Are security certifications worth it?
Well
one thing is for sure: security issues for large and small organisations
alike are certainly not going to go away. As more and more companies
and individuals become connected to each other through an ever-increasing
array of machines, software and protocols it would seem that the
demand for skilled security professionals will only increase over
time. One only has to look at the sheer number of security certifications
and infosec training available or being developed and you can
see that I.T. security is a hot commodity at the moment. Currently
this is good news for those wishing to obtain a security certification.
Employers generally view Infosec matters as specialist, or add-on,
sets of skills and seem to be willing to pay above market rates
for such skills. Perhaps however, in time, it might become the
standard that infosec skills are considered mandatory and an essential
part of every I.T. worker’s C.V. As each year passes, I.T.
workers are expected to become more and more multi-faceted and
it may come to pass that infosec skills are considered ‘de
rigueur’ and as such won’t command the same authority
in terms of pay and status that they do know. That day may be
some time in coming however so enhancing your C.V. with a security
certification or two will almost certainly enhance your career
prospects.
In
the following pages we’ll cover some of the most popular
security certifications on the market at the time of writing,
as well as providing numerous free study resources to help you
get started toward your security certification. The list does
not pretend to be comprehensive, but it should provide a good
platform to work from.
Vendor-neutral security certifications:
CIW Security certification
CompTIA Security+
Trusecure (coming soon)
ICS2 (coming soon)
Sans Institute (coming soon)
Vendor-specific
security certifications:
Cisco
(coming soon)
Sun (coming soon)
