Re: Certification ?

["Don Parker" <dparker () rigelksecurity com>]

All certs are not created equal. Have you yourself attempted a GIAC cert? I assure you it 
is no easy task, and it is most definitely not simply rote memorization. You are making 
blanket statements just like the other much debated Ethical Hacking training thread. Some 
are good and some are bad. It is as simple as that. Bottom line is go for a cert that has 
a practical portion to it, vice simply a multiple choice exam.

-------------------------------------------
Don Parker, GCIA
Intrusion Detection Specialist
Rigel Kent Security & Advisory Services Inc
www.rigelksecurity.com
ph :613.233.HACK
fax:613.233.1788
toll: 1-877-777-H8CK
--------------------------------------------

On Jun 16, Allan <larsmith () tds net> wrote:

<RANT>

I'm gagging on this "certification" thing.

Certs / Exams are a determiner of MEMORY ability ... the number of related / unrelated 
details that a person can REMEMBER / RECAL in a time-restricted environment.

REAL life not only involves memory of facts but memory of where to LOOK for answers and 
finding them in what ever resource is available.

In my personal life, I repair cars, washing machines, deal with my children, do 
computer "consulting" work, answer tech-support phone calls, build firewalls, manage 
three properties, etc., etc. and there's NO WAY in (hades) that a person can know ALL the 
answers even MOST of the time in a time-restricted environment ... and that's why theres 
RESOURCES to which a person can turn to for the answers.

REAL LIFE isn't even about knowing all the answers but often includes FINDING answers for 
the 1st time !!  And doing so quickly ... OR ... simply doing so RELIABLY ...

It's about wisdom.  It's not just about "knowledge" but what to do with that knowledge.

Case in point. I worked for an engineering firm. They hired a young fellow who, in high 
school, was a wizz ... graduated at 15 ... went to Clarkson University ... again, a wizz. 
Graduated with high marks. Went to work for our engineering firm and couldn't do ANYTHING 
right, when it came to PRACTICAL application of what he knew.

Sadly MANY QUALIFIED people are overlooked because of issues of "certification" 
or "university degree".

It's a fact of life.  It's exacerbated by the fact that now-a-days you can BUY your damn 
cert and STILL know NOTHING about what you're doing, in a PRACTICAL APPLICATION sense !!

There are certified and well degreed people working at firms which have been hacked / 
digitally vandilized / violated ( you fill in the adjective ).  Can you think of a few ?

Cert Smert !!

They're as reliable, PERHAPS, as a "lie-detector" or Graphology ... perhaps ... maybe 
even as reliable as the qualifications of the CIA personnel (plural) who recommended that 
the USA / UK go into Iraq ... MAYBE ...

</Rant>

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