Ethical Hacker Community Forums

hi . i was wondering which certification is the most valued in the market these days,,, i was thinking about EC council but i herd few ppl say it is not very valued,,, then my second thought was Zone-H,,, had a appointment with Dr. Zaki Qureshi the other and he wanted me to do it(for ppl who dont know him google him) but now i am really confused so please help me out..

p.s how are the job oppurtunities and pay for beginners in th feild,,,,

Certification for what?

I didn't know Zone-H had certifications....

I would say just start with basics and try getting the A+, N+ and security+

It really depends on what and why you want to get certified.  I think a PMP is very valuable.  But I dont think it would help you much if you are posting in this forum.

apparently they do check

http://www.e2-labs.com/

PMP???Project Management Professional????? i was thinking of something which would help me get into a pen test team...  (concentrating more on the technical side and not on managing)

i came across ISECOM certification but haven't seen any accredited training centers here in India

i herd ppl say that the EC council exams are very static and therefore it is very easy to clear them and this in tern has resulted in decline of the certificate value in the Industry..

The EC Council has a new version of the course and exam, which they (and those certified) hope will prevent that decline.  Check out Don's interview of Haja Mohideen and Chuck Swanson (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/190/24/) for some insight as far as the C|EH is concerned.

That's why you have to give the specifics....he gave you his opinion on what he thought of the PMP and agree with what he said.  Now, if you want to go the technical route then I agree with vijay2; go for CompTIA to start out with as they are a good starting place.

Even a red team needs someone who can keep them organized and communicate effectively with the client and upper management. For this reason, you should find PMP becoming more valuable in the pen testing world as this industry matures.

But telling us that you want to be more on the technical side is helpful. This too shall become more specialized as the industry matures. Are you a Windows guru, Linux guy, come from the networking side, are you a coder, DBA who prefers web app security testing, great at social engineering... Many ways you can go to be a part of this community without being an uber-haxor. And each has it's own courses and rcedentials. You just have to decide where you want to be.

Hope this helps,
Don

ok i think i need to let u guys know more about me so that u all can help me better,,,, i am not totally new to the field of pen testing,,, mostly self taught,,,, i have done my AFCEH-ankit fadia ethical hacking certification (not very proud of it) i have also won a national level hacking competition held by one of the biggest universities in India and i have found a vulnerability in one of the major ISP's in India(i havent reported it yet)

when i went to one of the ec-council ATC's the guys over there thought that i knew enought to go and take the test directly with out the training ,,,, now this is wat actually raised doubts in my mind about the certification... i dont consider my self to be an uber hacker or anything but (since i am mostly self taught i dont really know my standards and if i meet the standards of the present industry)..


hope u guys can now make a slightly better judgment about me and access me accordingly,,,, thanks

I would still suggest that you take the CeH and security+ exams even before you attempt any other more advanced ones. If you think you know everything for these passing those exams will endorse yr believe and you will have 2 good industry recognized certs to build on further.

Hope this helps

VJ

I agree with VJ.  I would just start with the basic certs and move on to the more technical or difficult ones.  Sec+, Ethical Hacker, MCSE or Cisco then maybe move onto something like a CISSP (not technical or difficult but may help in career progression).  The reason I say an MS or Cisco (or a developer track if that is what you are into) is becuase I find that in the security world it is nice to really understand the technology outside of a security context.  That is why I suggest to many people that want to be in security "go be a developer or network engineer first...it will serve you well."   Kinda like being a cop before you are a detective.  It gives you a good perspective. 

I think the most important thing is to find a good company that will give you a well rounded experience.  Personally, when I hire, I dont concentrate on certs.  They help a little when there is a good balance of certs and expereince.

Cheers! 

What is an EC and Zone-H?

who is "Zaki Qurashi" anyway ?

http://www.e2-labs.com/links/CEO.htm

thanks alot for all ur help ppl... i went and took the test today and qualified with 95.3% .... and as u guys suggested i will still go and brush my knowledge on the basic stuff... like security+ will try and get my hands on their material and just go thru it,, i guess it wont hurt..

anyways wat it the next step u guys suggest i should be taking..

Congrats!