GPEN vs. PenTest+
Introduction
Essential training and education for some areas of cybersecurity involves earning a respected professional certification. This is because there are no degree programs that adequately cover this material. In addition, certifications can be earned fairly quickly in comparison to a degree, allowing professional information security skill sets to grow fast.
This article will compare and contrast two certifications for penetration testers — the GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN) certification and CompTIA’s PenTest+ certification. Both certifications will be separately examined and will explore their prerequisites, the material that they cover and the exam details, and will conclude with a verdict on which certification you should choose for yourself.
GPEN
This vendor-neutral penetration testing certification is one of the most popular penetration testing certifications available today. This certification was created to help certify the knowledge and skills required of information security professionals who are tasked with finding security vulnerabilities within organization networks.
The certification does a thorough job of covering the pentesting methodologies and technologies a professional will frequently use, as well as the non-technical and legal issues surrounding this sub-discipline of cybersecurity.
GPEN prerequisites
Unlike many other certifications, GPEN does not have strictly enforced prerequisites. With that said, GPEN candidates will still need a firm understanding of Windows operating systems, Linux (including command line), networking (including TCP/IP protocols) and cryptography.
Material covered by GPEN
Unlike many other certifications, GPEN’s material is separated by topic areas instead of domains of knowledge. The topic areas GPEN covers are:
- Advanced password attacks
- Advanced password hashes
- Exploitation fundamentals
- Escalation and exploitation
- Metasploit framework
- Moving files with exploits
- Password attacks
- Password formats and hashes
- Pentesting planning
- Pentesting using Windows PowerShell
- Recon
- Scanning and host discovery
- Vulnerability scanning
- Web app injections
- Web app recon
- XSS and CSRF attacks
GPEN exam details
Certification candidates (Read more...)
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Infosec Resources authored by Greg Belding. Read the original post at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/infosecResources/~3/ZC3kMVATeAw/
