5 Cybersecurity Certificates Most Respected in the Industry

Cybersecurity is an evolving and popular industry with those in the profession wanting to demonstrate their expertise in the area by receiving certifications. There are many certifications from vendor specific, entry level to advanced. You should choose to invest in a certification that matches your skill set. Here are a few of the respected cybersecurity certificates in the industry.

List of Notable Cybersecurity Certificates

1. CISSP
2. OSCP
3. CompTIA
4. CEH
5. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

1. CISSP

The most-esteemed cybersecurity certification in the world

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is a certification developed by the (ISC)². This certification was designed to “demonstrate that a security professional is able to design, engineer, implement, and run an information security program” (). This cybersecurity certificate is heavily theory-based and gives an overview of cybersecurity. The exam is three hours long with a maximum of 150 multiple-choice questions.

The following eight domains are tested on the exam:

1. Security and Risk Management
2. Asset Security
3. Security Architecture and Engineering
4. Communication and Network Security
5. Identity and Access Management
6. Security Assessment and Testing
7. Security Operations
8. Software Development Security

Who should take the exam for this cybersecurity certificate?

The CISSP is typically designed for people who would like to become a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). However, other roles such as the list below may take the certification for a booster when searching for jobs in the industry. 

• Chief Information Security Officer
• Chief Information Officer
• Director of Security
• IT Director/Manager
• Security Analyst
• And many more.

CISSP Training

You can choose from the following on how you want to prepare for the exam:

• Online self-paced
• Online instructor led
• Classroom based
  

2. OSCP

Offensive Security Certified Professional is a well-known cybersecurity certificate designed for penetration testing enthusiasts. This certificate program “focuses on hands-on offensive information security skill and consists of two parts: a 24-hour pentesting exam, and a report due 24 hours after that” (). It is a very hands-on exam so before you take the exam, you have to complete the penetration testing with kali linux course. You not only gain knowledge and personal pride from this certification, but it also opens a door of job opportunities within the field.

Is the exam for this cybersecurity certificate difficult to pass?

If you ask anyone that has taken this exam, you will get a variety of answers and a common one being that it was the most difficult exam that they have ever taken in their life which is why it is important to prepare for the exam.

3. CompTIA Security+

CompTIA Security+ is an “entry-level certification that validates the skills needed in any cybersecurity role” (). By completing this certification, you are demonstrating your ability to “assess the security of an organization, monitor and secure cloud, mobile, and IoT environments, understand laws and regulations related to risk and compliance, and identify and respond to security incidents'' ().Earning the Security+ certification can help you get a job in roles such as the following:

1. Helpdesk manager
2. IT auditor
3. Software developer
4. Security engineer
5. Cloud engineer
6. System administrator

CompTIA Security+ Training

• Self study
• Classroom training
  

4. CEH

The purpose of the Certified Ethical Hacker certification is for one to demonstrate their skills in penetration testing, attack detection, prevention, and vectors. This cybersecurity certificate helps you think from a hacker’s perspective in order to try and detect vulnerabilities before the hackers do. CEH students “go through real-time scenarios where they are exposed to different ways hackers penetrate networks and steal information” (). Getting a Certified Ethical Hacker certification can help you get a role in the following:

1. Penetration tester
2. Cyber security analyst 
3. Threat intelligence analyst 
4. Cybersecurity engineer
5. Cloud security engineer

5. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Cloud technology has become an increasingly popular area of interest in recent years because it has allowed us to quickly adapt to whatever a business needs. Cloud technology is flexible, scalable, and is the direction of where devices, data centers, etc are being stored. It is a “hot topic” that is still evolving, therefore to have a cybersecurity background and a cloud certification would be very good on your resume as the demand for cloud skills continues to grow. According to , 82% of hiring managers report that cloud certifications make a candidate more attractive. 

Who should take this exam for this cybersecurity certificate?

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is “intended for anyone who has basic knowledge of the AWS platform” (). There are many AWS certifications that one may take and this video by A Cloud Guru does a great job of going through each kind. At time 8:47 is when AWS Cloud Practitioner is briefly talked about.

These are just a few respected and popular cybersecurity certificates to receive in the industry. There are many more out there, but it is up to you to decide which one best suits your skill sets and would leverage you to getting a good job. Certifications look great on resumes and are typically what HR will look for when going through job applications. As mentioned in , with new cybersecurity certificates being created and the increased skills gap, their value is likely to only increase. If you are one of the few that has a specific certification, you are at an advantage when job hunting. As cybersecurity is becoming even more important since the global pandemic, more companies are looking to fill in their open positions and now is a good time than ever to research your options.