Security Certification Organizations

You’ll find a breakdown of 13 cyber security certification bodies and notes on some of their most popular accreditations below. These organizations are also listed on the website of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). 

The big ones – 

• CompTIA
• EC Council 
• GIAC 
• ISACA
• (ISC)²

These are members of the Cybersecurity Credentials Collaborative (C3), an effort to promote the benefits of certifications in the skills development of information security professionals around the world.

The Department of Defense, for instance, has developed a separate SPēD Certification program run through the Center for Development of Security Excellence.

If you’re confused about which certification is right for your experience level and interests, reach out to your network. Your professors, employer and/or senior-level colleagues will have a strong sense of which qualifications are worth the investment
 
CERT Programs -

SEI(Software Engineering Institute)offers two security-focused certifications:

• CERT Instructor

• CERT-CSIH: Computer Security Incident Handler 

CISCO Programs- 

Cisco has tiered its security accreditations into four levels of experience:

• CCENT
• CCNA Security
• CCNP Security
• CCIE Security 

CWNP Programs- 

 

The most relevant security qualifications are:

• CWSP: Certified Wireless Security Professional
• CWNE: Certified Wireless Network Expert

ComPTIA Programs- 

 

Notable security accreditations include:

• CompTIA Network+
• CompTIA Security+
• CASP: CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner

DRI International Programs- 

 

DRII certification is the intermediate-level:  

• CBCP: Certified Business Continuity Professional 

EC-Council Programs- 

EC-Council’s flagship course is: 

• CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker 

GIAC Programs- 

If you’re interested in a GIAC credential, you might wish to investigate:

• GSEC: GIAC Security Essentials Certification
• GPEN: GIAC Certified Penetration Tester
• GCIH: GIAC Certified Incident Handler

IACRB Programs- 
 
IACRB, Competitors to EC-Council’s CEH qualification include:

• CPT: Certified Penetration Tester
• CEPT: Certified Expert Penetration Tester

ISACA Programs- 

 

The organization offers certifications in 

• CISA
• CGEIT
• CRISC
• CISM: Certified Information Security Manager. 

Like CompTIA and CISSP, CISM was named to Ed Tittel’s list of Best Information Security Certifications for 2015.

 

(ISC)² Programs- 

 

(ISC)²’s banner certification is the globally-recognized  

• CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

You can also opt to take a concentration:

• CISSP-ISSAP: Information Systems Security Architecture Professional
• CISSP-ISSEP: Information Systems Security Engineering Professional
• CISSP-ISSMP: Information Systems Security Management Professional

MI: McAfee Institute Programs- 
 
Crime-related security certifications include:

• CCTA: Certified Counter-Intelligence Threat Analyst
• CEFI: Certified eCommerce Fraud Investigator
• CCIE: Certified Cyber Investigative Expert
• CCII: Certified Cyber Intelligence Investigator
• CCIP: Certified Cyber Intelligence Professional
• CORCI: Certified Organized Retail Crime Investigator

Mile2 Programs-

 Mile2 has set itself up in direct competition to the EC-Council’s CEH and IACRB’s CPT. Its hacking certifications include:

• CPTE: Certified Penetration Testing Engineer
• CPTC: Certified Penetration Testing Consultant

Offensive Security Programs- 

If you’re a Pen Tester looking for a top-notch certification, you should seriously consider

• OSCP: Offensive Security Certified Professional.

Offensive Security offers other information security certifications, including the more advanced OSCE: Offensive Security Certified Expert, but OSCP is the one we’ve heard infosec experts mention the most. View a full list of their community projects.