Top Cybersecurity Certifications to Gain This Autumn 2021

Cybersecurity is a priority number one in most companies nowadays, especially, when they have shifted most employees to work remotely. This can be the cause of data breach, unauthorized access, and the work stoppage. To escape and prevent such kind of backfired, organizations should be aware of hacking and secure their devices and networks. If you are one who is interested in this sphere and want to know from where to start or how to boost your career now, then this article is for you. It covers the top cybersecurity that will give you a competitive advantage in your career.

1. CompTIA Security+ is the best certification to start with if you’ve just taken that path. First of all, it’s vendor-neutral, which means you get an opportunity to work with technologies regardless of the vendor. Secondly, it equips you with basic practical skills to recommend and apply suitable cybersecurity solutions. Thirdly, it is aimed at providing you with the latest trends and techniques. Fourthly, it is the foundation of most cybersecurity job roles and to add more, this designation fulfills the DoD 8570 compliance. Fifthly, it offers you an opportunity to be hired in such companies as NETFLIX, splunk>, and Johns Hopkins University. Sixthly, it opens you doors to a wide variety of job options, as follows: systems administrator, security engineer/administrator/analyst, IT project manager, cloud engineer, to name a few. The exam to pass is SY0-601 for $370. According to Ziprecruiter, having the Security+ certification, you can earn annually about $69,441.

2. GIAC GSEC (the GIAC Security Essentials) is another certification that will be useful for individuals who are interested in information security but already have experience in working with information systems and networking. This designation proves not only your knowledge of the main concepts and terminology, but also required skills to carry out IT systems roles with the focus on security tasks. The GSEC accreditation is aimed at security managers and professionals, security administrators, penetration testers, forensic analysts, IT engineers and supervisors, auditors, and forensic analysts. The certification proves your skills in cryptography, network security, active defense, incident handling, Linux security, security policy, web communication security, and Windows. To become certified, candidates have to pass the GSEC exam which lasts for 4-5 hours. Speaking of the annual salary, certified candidates receive $79,733 on average, as indicated on the Ziprecruiter website.

3. EC-Council CEH designation is the second one to consider. If you have at least 2 years of work experience in the Information Security domain and can demonstrate your skills before enrolling in the official training, this certification is for you. It proves your proficiency in using the latest hacking techniques, tools, methodologies within legal boundaries. Candidates have to be able to deal with attack vectors, detection, and prevention. This accreditation is aimed at IT Security Administrator, Network Engineer, Junior Penetration Tester, Security Analyst, AI Security Officer, IT Auditors, Risk/Vulnerability/Threat Analyst, System Admins, Cyber Defense Analyst, Manual Ethical Hacker, among many.

To gain this certification, candidates have to pass a 4-hour multiple choice CEH exam that checks their knowledge, and then the CEH Practical 6-hour exam to prove their skills. Being CEH certified means that individuals can work for the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force. As for the Ziprecruiter statistics, the CEH certified professionals earn annually about $104,813.

4. Isaca CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) is a worldly recognized certification that will be of great value for those candidates that deal with auditing, controlling, monitoring, and assessing business systems as well as organization’s information technology. It is suitable both for entry-level and mid-career professionals. And currently, more than 151,000 professionals are CISA accredited worldwide and this number is growing. The exam contains 5 domains, which are dedicated to such topics as information system auditing process, governance and management of IT, information systems acquisition, development, and implementation, information systems operation and business resilience, and the final one is protection of information assets. Before enrolling in this designation, candidates need to have 5 or more years of experience in IT audit, control, assurance, or security. So, the CISA certification is intended for IT auditors, control, assurance, and information security professionals. The certification is also valuable for IT specialists as it is accredited under ISO/IEC 17024:2012. To gain this designation, candidates have to pass the CISA exam, which lasts for 4 hours and costs $575 for ISACA members and $760 for nonmembers. As indicated on the ISACA website, the annual salary of the CISA certified professionals is about $110,000.

5. ISACA CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) certification verifies your skills in risk management, incident management, information security governance, and program development and government. It’s the best option for employees who want to shift from a team player to manager and currently work in IT/IS security and control. The certification requires from you to pass the CISM exam, which includes 4 domains as follows: information security governance, information risk management, information security program development and management, and information security incident management. The exam lasts for 4 hours, and will cost you $575 if you are an ISACA member, and $760 if you are an ISACA nonmember. Note, that the exam will be changing on the 1^st of June, 2022, so try to take before this date. Speaking of the experience before taking the CISM exam, you need to have 5 or more years of experience in information security management. Currently, more than $46,000 employees are CISM certified, which means that they earn annually about $118,000, as stated on the vendor’s website.

6. (ISC)² CISSP this designation is designed for experienced security managers, practitioners, and executives aimed to gain the following positions: security systems engineer, security consultant/auditor/architect/manager, director of security, chief information officer, chief information security officer, or network architect, to name a few. To become CISSP certified, candidates have to pass the CISSP exam that testifies their knowledge and skills in the following 8 domains: security & risk management, asset security, communication & network security, security architecture & engineering, identity and access management (IAM), security operations, security assessment and testing, software development security. But before taking this exam, test-takers must have at least 5 years of paid work experience in 2 or more of 8 domains of the CBK (ISC)² CISSP Common Body of Knowledge. The CISSP exam which lasts for 3 hours will cost you $749. As stated on the Ziprecruiter website, with the CISSP certification you can earn annually about $125,470.

So, these are the top certifications one can opt for without question and flourish in the IT cybersecurity market. Some certifications require the background experience and some do not. You can start from the GSEC certification, Security+ or CEH, or if you are an expertized candidate, you can opt for the CISM, CISSP, or CISA designations. Choose the one that suits you most and grow in your career, as your professional value will always be considered and recognized widely. And also you won’t have difficulties in finding a company to work in.