The Latest News from The EC-Council: What Updates Can You Take Advantage of in 2022?

It is no secret that EC-Council is the leader in the certification and training of cybersecurity professionals. Therefore, having this certification from this renowned vendor is a mark of distinction for professionals who are tasked with protecting company systems and data from threats and attacks of all kinds. Meanwhile, this certification body is trusted by 47 Fortune 100 companies, seven Fortune 10 companies, NATO, the global intelligence community, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 colleges, universities, and training companies.

And with the demand for skilled specialists in this evolving field, EC-Council decided to change its approach to training entry-level cybersecurity professionals. And in October 2021, EC-Council’s Academic Department announced a new Essentials Series, which covers the basic skills for the most in-demand technical careers in cybersecurity. Let’s take a closer look at it.

EC-Council Essentials Series Overview

The Essentials Series program covers core skills in ethical hacking, network security, and digital forensics. The main advantage of this offering is that it is a MOOC (massive open online course). In other words, the program that offers free online education. In the case of the Essentials Series, to help prepare candidates for entry-level job roles in the cybersecurity and information security industries, EC-Council proposes the basic 3 accreditations that were created by the same developers as the globally known and U.S. Department of Defense-approved certifications from EC-Council. So, candidates are offered the following opportunities:

Network Defense Essentials (NDE) qualification, which aims to assess the competence, information security skills, and experience of a network defense professional. This certification track is based on the Certified Network Defender (CND) and covers a basic level of knowledge regarding key network defense concepts. As a result of the training and quality preparation, candidates become intimately familiar with various network and computer security concepts including wireless network security, cryptography, IoT network security, network traffic monitoring, and network security management tools, among others. After this education, candidates will take the corresponding 5-hour NDE exam, which consists of 75 questions. This multiple-choice test can be taken at the ECC Exam Center.
Ethical Hacking Essentials (EHE) qualification is an entry-level program concerning fundamental IT concepts, penetration testing, and ethical contribution. As a result, the EHE-certified pros will have a confident knowledge of the main security threats to IT systems and effective security measures. More to the point, students will learn various information security attack vectors, malware, sniffing, password cracking, web application attacks, social engineering, SQL injection, and key methodologies for auditing information systems for threats during their free training. This certification track is based on the Derived from Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and ends with the associated EHE test, which also consists of 75 multiple-choice questions. The target audience is system administrators, database administrators, network administrators, web developers, and other IT specialists interested in the field.
Digital Forensics Essentials (DFE) qualification covers the core competencies for aspiring forensics and eDiscovery practitioners. As such, you will be required to pass through the ECC Exam Center a 2-hour test that will verify your understanding of file and hard disks systems, Windows forensics, dark web forensics, anti-forensics techniques, and computer forensics investigation process, among others. What’s more, this accreditation path is based on the Derived from Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI).

As a result, the Essentials Series program prepares candidates for quality performance in entry-level positions such as:

Local Area Network Specialist
Help Desk Technician
Cybersecurity Technician
Network Security Analyst
Technical Support Specialist
Cyber Forensic Specialist
Network Technician
Systems Specialist
Cyber Operations Technician
Cybersecurity Specialist

What’s more, this Essentials Series Course includes a number of resources for training and education:

Free (included in MOOCs) resources

Video and lab lectures
Instructor Slides & Syllabus
eBook

Paid (Optional) Items:

Certification exam
Lab Range
Post-course evaluation and certificate of completion

Other EC-Council Accreditation Program Updates

As you can imagine, hackers do not take a nap. Therefore, the types and number of different threats and attacks make the sphere of cybersecurity evolve every day. Hence the continuous updating of the EC-Council certification program and the content of its exams.

For example, the Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) certification path was updated in 2021. In more detail, in the updated blueprint, you can see a new segmentation of topics, as well as the addition/deletion of some key topics.

The same happened with the Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) and Certified Network Defender (CND) accreditations. So always consider the possibility of changes and follow the news on the vendor’s official website.

Conclusion

Based on the above, we can note that EC-Council does not only care about its reputation but is also really interested in high-quality training of professionals in the field of cybersecurity. Each qualification path and each relevant exam is based only on the most relevant knowledge and skills in this field, taking into account the real needs of organizations interested in the security of their systems and information. So, if your sphere of activity is somehow related to cybersecurity, do not miss the opportunity to become another member of the EC-Council community, which currently has about 240,000 certified professionals.