Ok, I've got an apraisal at work on Fri and I'm wondering what training/exams to ask for. It will be InfoSec related if I get my way. I work for an ISP so swinging it won't be too difficult (I hope!).

Now the training budget isn't huge so I may have to home study, which doesn't bother me, as long as they pay

I'm CCNA/MCP trained and have about 7yrs in IT, currently about halfway through, and taking a break from, a BSc in IT/Comp Sci. I've been interested in computer security for about as long as I've been in the IT trade, but haven't really studied it, just picked up books, read tutorials and played with various "l33t skillz"  websites. I'm not looking for something that will get me a new job, just a stepping stone to more advanced qualifications that might.

I took a quick look at test questions for the CompTIA Sec+ and think I could sail that with only a little bit of study, but the pen test exams seem a bit more hands on.

How do the CEH and CPTS compare to Sec+?  Are there any other certs people would recomend taking?

Oh, and I've got to be able to get it here in the UK, I don't think work'll shell out for plane tickets.


Any views would be gladly taken into account.

Cheers,
plik.

I was going to tack this on to an old thread, but it suggested I start a new one as it was ancent, so here are the answer to the questions asked in that thread:

Aim for Management or stay Geek? - Geek! all the way!
Networking/Servers/Clients? - Everything and anything (see above)

I think another good source for learning is Sans.  I taken multiple courses from them and have always rated them top notch.  You could try something like the OnDemand, @home or other various methods.  If you can go to a conference, do it.  The knowledge you get from the instructors is excellent.

there was also a recent comparison done between all the certs (but I can't seem to find it now) that had some good details in it. 

I can't say anything about CEH/CPTS as I have not gone through them. 

What part of security do you want to get into is the main question?  Depending upon that reply the certs to go for may change.

Hey plik, I have a link to a good article regarding security certs. Hope this help.

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid14_gci990011,00.html

Cheers, I'll read and inwardly digest.


Don: Yeah I'm quite aware that forensics would probably lead to me seeing a few things that would be f'd up. I'd think that it's one of the most likely professions for that. The few times I've had to pull data together for the police have creeped me out, and that was just logs.

Well thanks for the input, I've got a better idea about what to ask for now.

And on top of that I've found the exams are cheaper that I first thought, so I might just take a couple anyway! 

I'll let you know how it goes.