Re: Pentest exams

[Curt Shaffer <cshaffer () gmail com>]

I may be a little biased being GPEN certified myself as well as a mentor for
the class, but I wouldn't take back my choice for one second. I'm not saying
there aren't other good classes and certs out there but I learned sooo much
from the GPEN that has helped me in many ways, even beyond just penetration
testing. The instructors for the GPEN course are the cream of the crop in my
opinion. These guys are out there in the thick of it, learning what works
and what doesn't. They are giving talks on deep topics in the security area
at all of the major and minor cons out there. It's nice to know that your
instructors are known by major players in the industry due to their
contributions. That is worth it by itself.

Beyond that what I found just looking over materials for difference choices
when I wanted to become certified in penetration testing is the professional
aspect. Sure it's cool to have a class to learn a bunch of new tools and
techniques to get into systems. What was probably more important, and a
large focus on the GPEN, was methodology.

We had full days of class based on rules of engagement, scope, laws to
consider when pen testing and report generation. These are the things that a
lot of people in the field don't get trained on and that is what can make a
good pentester great. It's more than just popping the box, it's about
letting the client know what that means to them and what they can do about
it.

With that said, the SANS GPEN was the only one that I saw that really fit
that bill fully. Again, I don't want to discredit anyone else's training or
certs, just my half a nickel :)

If you have specific question on this course feel free to hit me up off
list.

Curt
On 9/17/09 4:04 PM, "Scott" <opiesan () gmail com> wrote:

> You should also consider the OSCP from Offensive Security
> (www.offensive-security.com).  It's a lab based cert exam and worth
> looking into when comparing the certs you mentioned.
>
> Scott
>
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 9:15 AM, Chris <troncarter80 () gmail com> wrote:
> > I'm looking to get certification as a penetration tester but, I'm torn
> > between which would be the best fit.  I work for a large company that
> > deals with about 70% DoD, 20% military and 10% commercial.  Although
> > I'm not doing cleared work currently, a lot of our contracts involve
> > TS/TS with a Full Scope.  I'm currently looking at ECSA from
> > EC-Council and GPEN from SANS.  I've looked over some of the actual
> > material briefly from EC and it seems decent.  Any help would be
> > greatly appreciated.  There may be more certs out there that are just
> > as worthy, I'm just not aware of them.
> >
> > Thank you
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > This list is sponsored by: Information Assurance Certification Review Board
> >
> > Prove to peers and potential employers without a doubt that you can actually
> > do a proper penetration test. IACRB CPT and CEPT certs require a full
> > practical examination in order to become certified.
> >
> > http://www.iacertification.org
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This list is sponsored by: Information Assurance Certification Review Board
>
> Prove to peers and potential employers without a doubt that you can actually
> do a proper penetration test. IACRB CPT and CEPT certs require a full
> practical examination in order to become certified.
>
> http://www.iacertification.org
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
•



------------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is sponsored by: Information Assurance Certification Review Board

Prove to peers and potential employers without a doubt that you can actually do a proper penetration test. IACRB CPT 
and CEPT certs require a full practical examination in order to become certified.

http://www.iacertification.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------