CEH, CHFI, LPT, ECSA, CISSP Certifications

[Nograts]

My work is offering vouchers to take these tests, unfortunately none of them come with the usual 1 week to 1 month classroom instruction, it is purely self-learned just take the test for free.

Of all of these which one is "easiest"?

I currently have a few years of very basic networking under my belt, I actually do transmissions for SATCOM, but I'm in college for a Cyber Security degree and then hope to pursue a masters in Digital Forensics, so if any of these are learnable in a week to a month or so... which one would that be?

Or am I better off taking a college class and then taking the test at a later time, or just paying out of pocket? (I haven't seen prices to take the tests I just know it's being offered for free through work).

 

[MrColin]

If they are all free, you might as well cram for the hardest one and take them all. All carrot, no stick.

 

[unokitty]

My work is offering vouchers to take these tests, unfortunately none of them come with the usual 1 week to 1 month classroom instruction, it is purely self-learned just take the test for free.

Of all of these which one is "easiest"?

I currently have a few years of very basic networking under my belt, I actually do transmissions for SATCOM, but I'm in college for a Cyber Security degree and then hope to pursue a masters in Digital Forensics, so if any of these are learnable in a week to a month or so... which one would that be?

Or am I better off taking a college class and then taking the test at a later time, or just paying out of pocket? (I haven't seen prices to take the tests I just know it's being offered for free through work).

Can only speak to the two of those Certs that I've earned: CEH and CISSP.

My experience with those CEH was easier. CISSP was less technical but broader in scope. If you already have Security+, CEH isn't that much more (IMHO)... Many people I know took more than a month to prepare for CISSP.

Whether or not a college course would help really depends on your background. And it would also depend on the CyberSecurity curriculum that your school is using...

But free is good!

Best of luck,
Uno

 

[seepy83]

I can't add much to this thread, because I haven't done any training or certification in the EC-Council arena (CEH, CHFI, LPT, and ECSA are all EC-Council certs). I can say that you'll only be able to earn an "Associate of (ISC)2" cert if you pass the CISSP but don't have the required 5 years of professional experience. That, and the CISSP exam is hard. The Common Body of Knowledge that you're tested on is very large...like unokitty said, it's a broad scope.

I would assume the CEH might be the most attainable for someone just starting out.

Also, the CISSP exam is about to change on 4/15/2015. Changes have been made to all 10 domains of the CBK. I don't know details, because (thankfully) I just need to earn CPEs to stay certified and I don't need to re-test. If you're getting any study material, make sure it's for the exam that you would be taking...and I'm not sure there is much available for the new exam yet.

 

[Seriouz-Bizniz]

I would assume the CEH might be the most attainable for someone just starting out.

I agree. I recently have taken SY0-401 (Security +) and the next certification I plan to pass is the CEH. I have read over some of the material and to me, I found the CEH material to be very similar to the Security+. It is covering the basics more in depth. If you feel that you have the basic mechanics of networking and security then by all means go for it. If you feel that you need to brush up some basics, I would look at some basic 101 books or courses before attempting. This is just my two cents. Essentially, it all boils down to how comfortable you are and your experience.

Best of luck.

 

[Nograts]

Thanks. I already have SEC+ so I'll grab a CEH book and see what I recall. For 5 years of experience is it specific to security or just an IT position?

 

[unokitty]

Thanks. I already have SEC+ so I'll grab a CEH book and see what I recall. For 5 years of experience is it specific to security or just an IT position?

Do you have the proper experience for your CISSP credential?

My experience is that they are fairly liberal in their interpretation concerning their experience requirements. That said, they are also known to audit people randomly. Not a big deal as long as everything you list as experience checks out...

Best of luck,
Uno

 

[seepy83]

Thanks. I already have SEC+ so I'll grab a CEH book and see what I recall. For 5 years of experience is it specific to security or just an IT position?

https://www.isc2.org/cissp-how-to-certify.aspx:
Candidates must have a minimum of five years cumulative paid full-time work experience in two or more of the 10 domains of the (ISC)² CISSP CBK®. Candidates may receive a one year experience waiver with a four-year college degree, or regional equivalent or additional credential from the (ISC)² approved list, thus requiring four years of direct full-time professional security work experience in 2 or more of the 10 domains of the CISSP CBK.

Don't have the experience? Become an Associate of (ISC)² by successfully passing the CISSP exam. You'll have six years to earn your experience to become a CISSP.

It should be security experience. However, I can say fairly confidently that any security-conscious systems admin with 5 years of experience can write their resume in a way that emphasizes how that jobs relates to security. Not sure if you can stretch it with your SATCOM role or not.