Cracking down on braindumps and leaks

[Gregory Childers]

I'm also one of these MCSE's that got blanded out because of all the paper MCSE types and brain dump types that cheapened the exams down. I'm proud of getting it (it was long ago, mind you), but when I started seeing job ads, followed by colleges running ads "Get your MCSE and make $65000", well, there was a very large carrot to draw people into doing the wrong thing.

I earned my MCSE in 2006 and was an MCT from 2006-2017. I also earned my MCTS in SharePoint, along with multiple MOS Master certifications.

I gave up my MCT in 2017 for several reasons.

1) They doubled the annual fee for renewing the MCT. It's silly that any vendor chargers a person money TO TEACH THEIR CONTENT, but it's ridiculous to double the fee.

2) The quality of the training materials plummeted over the years. In the early 2000s, their stuff was rather good. But they attempted to cut costs and the quality dropped. Eventually, they hired subcontractors to create content, slide decks, and labs and none of it had any quality control. I would set up labs verbatim and they would blow up every single time. I found myself constantly apologizing for both the content and the labs.

3) The market was flooded with MCSEs. Both legitimately earned and paper MCSEs. The supply was greater than the demand.

I haven't taken a Microsoft exam since 2016. I've heard their new exams are better, but I have no idea. I'm working on finishing up Linux+ and Data+ before working on some AWS, ISACA, and (ISC)2 exams.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

Next up, ExamTopics?

I'm working on finishing up Linux+ and Data+ before working on some AWS, ISACA, and (ISC)2 exams.

You may want to try and fit the current (ISC)2 beta exam in your short-term planning. I'm taking the beta for "EL" (entry-level) next week, to scope it out for my students. If the exam turns out to be good, I'll recommend it to our school as replacement for MTA-Sec and as better alternative to Sec+.

-> https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/entry-level-certification-pilot/Exam-Outline

 

[Gregory Childers]

Next up, ExamTopics?

You may want to try and fit the current (ISC)2 beta exam in your short-term planning. I'm taking the beta for "EL" (entry-level) next week, to scope it out for my students. If the exam turns out to be good, I'll recommend it to our school as replacement for MTA-Sec and as better alternative to Sec+.

-> https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/entry-level-certification-pilot/Exam-Outline

ISACA has their own entry level certifications. The Information Technology Certified Associate (ITCA) Cybersecurity Fundamentals exam has been out for a short while.

I honestly don't know how the (ISC)2 EL cert and the ISACA Cybersecurity Fundamentals cert stack up against CompTIA's Sec+, My guess is that both would be considered lower level certs in comparison.

If I had to guess, I would think the (ISC)2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) would be a rough equivalent of the Sec+. Either that or the GIAC Information Security Fundamentals (GISF), although that one is a bit cost prohibitive.

Since my role has changed as a trainer in that I no longer teach CompTIA/Microsoft/ISACA/(ISC)2 and instead my company's proprietary platform, any new certifications I pursue would strictly be for the purpose of rounding out my overall knowledge base.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

Oh, thanks for those recommendations! ISACA is lesser-known here in EUW, but it's a good candidate nonetheless.

 

[Gregory Childers]

Oh, thanks for those recommendations! ISACA is lesser-known here in EUW, but it's a good candidate nonetheless.

Most people in the US know ISACA for their CISA and CISM certifications.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

I honestly don't know how the (ISC)2 EL cert and the ISACA Cybersecurity Fundamentals cert stack up against CompTIA's Sec+, My guess is that both would be considered lower level certs in comparison.

I agree with your assessment that out of ELCC (from ISC2), I-CSF (from ISACA), GFACT (from GIAC) and Sec+, Sec+ actually seems like the best entry-level cert. Both in objectives / curriculum, in exam quality and in costs.

GIAC is usually excellent, but ludicrously expensive. ELCC has a good set of objectives, but the exam is flimsy (I took it this week) and ISACA feels extortionate when it comes to exam costs and maintenance fees.

So I'll push for more CompTIA.

 

[Gregory Childers]

I agree with your assessment that out of ELCC (from ISC2), I-CSF (from ISACA), GFACT (from GIAC) and Sec+, Sec+ actually seems like the best entry-level cert. Both in objectives / curriculum, in exam quality and in costs.

GIAC is usually excellent, but ludicrously expensive. ELCC has a good set of objectives, but the exam is flimsy (I took it this week) and ISACA feels extortionate when it comes to exam costs and maintenance fees.

So I'll push for more CompTIA.

The certification organizations should reevaluate the costs of their examinations. Some are ridiculously overpriced.

The GIAC exams are popular with the United States military. They have a large enough budget that they can afford to pay for those exams.

 

[Girlytech]

Next up, ExamTopics?

You may want to try and fit the current (ISC)2 beta exam in your short-term planning. I'm taking the beta for "EL" (entry-level) next week, to scope it out for my students. If the exam turns out to be good, I'll recommend it to our school as replacement for MTA-Sec and as better alternative to Sec+.

-> https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/entry-level-certification-pilot/Exam-Outline

HI Tess- I am wondering if you have gotten your test score yet? I took the exam in June as well and have not received my score. When I finished with the exam it said that they would notify me in 6-8 weeks. I am wondering if CompTia is going to add this as a CEU for renewing A+ too!

 

[Tess Sluijter]

HI Tess- I am wondering if you have gotten your test score yet? I took the exam in June as well and have not received my score. When I finished with the exam it said that they would notify me in 6-8 weeks. I am wondering if CompTia is going to add this as a CEU for renewing A+ too!

Ha, good question! I'd completely forgotten about taking this exam!

I haven't heard from them yet either...

EDIT: I just checked, the exam still has status "taken", with no scores reported.

 

[Girlytech]

Ha, good question! I'd completely forgotten about taking this exam!

I haven't heard from them yet either...

EDIT: I just checked, the exam still has status "taken", with no scores reported.

Same here Tess. I am sending in credentials for my dual credit classes and this would be nice to add!

 

[Gregory Childers]

So I recently passed the (ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity exam. My opinion is that it is a decent entry-level exam that could be used as a stepping stone to the CompTIA Security+. It is a 100 question multiple choice examination with no PBQs, no diagrams, or displays. Just a straightforward multiple choice exam. It a few basic topics like the OSI model, the CIA triad, basics of cryptography, risk management, DR/Continuity, and basic controls. I assume this is the same exam as the Entry Level beta that was mentioned previously in this thread.

(ISC)2 is attempting to get a million people certified so for a limited time, they're offering absolutely free exam vouchers.

One Million Certified in Cybersecurity – Free ISC2 Certification Exams

ISC2 pledges one million free entry-level certification courses and exams to individuals new to cybersecurity

www.isc2.org

If you have already passed Sec+, CySA+, or PenTest+, this will seem very basic and easy. I only took the exam because it was free and because it gave me enough CEUs to renew my Cloud+ certification.

My recommendation is that if you have no experience with cybersecurity, it's better than no certification at all. You can use it and then go for higher level certs like CompTIA's Sec+/CySA+/PenTest+/CASP+. But if you already have any of those, there's no point in taking it, other than to collect CEUs.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

I've run an in-house bootcamp for ISC2's CC exam, with about 20-30 people studying and taking the exam. Most of'm passed on the first try! Awesome.

The bad thing is that many people indicated that ISC2's own e-learning materials did not cover all the information needed for the exam. Personally I feel that's absolutely nuts! Luckily I'd prepared some PluralSight learnings for them (in a custom learning path) to fill a few of the gaps.