The aspect of cybersecurity is an ever-evolving environment. It imperils the livelihood of every business in every industry in all corners of the globe. Since enterprises struggle to defend themselves and their clients against cyber-attacks and data violations. The skills to conduct penetration testing satisfactorily is a unique skill set that is promptly becoming increasingly valuable to businesses requiring protection, and even more lucrative for those few who possess these rare skills. CompTIA PenTest+ is a certification for intermediate level cybersecurity professionals who are mandated with penetration testing to recognize, utilize, report, and administer vulnerabilities on a network.

What is the CompTIA PenTest+ Certification?

The CompTIA PenTest+ certification is intended to gauge the skills of those security professionals who are concerned in penetration testing of IT networks and vulnerability management. Assessment is through practical, performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions.

The certification is serving two functions. Not only does it test the ability of penetration testers, but it also looks at the person’s management skills in planning, perception of a scope of work, and system weakness management.

The assessment includes everything from traditional desktops by cloud and web servers to mobile devices. The CompTIA PenTest+ satisfies the ISO 17024 standard.

The CompTIA PenTest+ exam is usually taken by employees with the following prerequisites:

• CompTIA Network+
• Security+ or similar knowledge
• At least three to four years of hands-on information security or relevant experience.

PenTest+ evaluates the most updated penetration testing, and vulnerability evaluation and management competencies required to manage the resiliency of the network against attacks. Successful applicants will have the core skills and most useful practices needed to adapt assessment frameworks to efficiently collaborate on and report findings, and communicate recommended approaches to enhance the overall situation of IT security.

What Makes CompTIA PenTest+ a Good Choice

• CompTIA PenTest+ certification thoroughly includes everything a penetration tester should understand, from project planning and analysis to project reporting and presentation.
• Pentest+ is at an intermediate level certification that’s valid for three years from the date of the exam.
• CompTIA PenTest+ certifications offer more than Pen Testing skills; it also incorporates job roles, specifically vulnerability management and vulnerability assessment, along with penetration testing.
• PenTest+ certification equips professionals with a vital cybersecurity strategy. Apart from this, you will additionally learn beyond secure practices, the idea of attack policy that must be recognized by IT professionals.
• CompTIA PenTest+ supports cybersecurity pros to think offensively, while CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) measures defensive skills. Security professionals use both security strategies to protect against vulnerabilities.
• The CompTIA PenTest+ helps you think like a hacker and prepares you as a penetration tester, eventually helping the organizations to find vulnerabilities in their security systems.
• The exam provides the platform for penetration testers to undertake penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and vulnerability management on the targeted system(s).
• Gain confidence that the exam you take is intended by seasoned subject specialists in penetration testing and ethical hacking.
• Some of the corresponding jobs profiles linked to the certification are Penetration tester, Network security operations, Security analyst (II), Vulnerability tester Auditor, Vulnerability assessment, Application security vulnerability.
• The exam also includes management skills for planning, scope, management, and manipulation of weaknesses.
• Being a PenTest+ certified expert, you will be able to carry out penetration testing in different IT environments such as desktops, mobile, cloud, and server.
• The CompTIA PenTest+ exam is comprised of 85 multiple choice and performance-based, 165 minutes long, a passing score of 750 (on a scale of 100-900).
• The certification is an industry approved by ANSI ANSI/IEC/ISO 17024, a renowned accreditation body.

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The benefits of professional certification are multi-faceted, particularly in the cybersecurity space. Because the need for proven skills and talent are in such high demand.

In IT sectors, you need to show your skills more than just work experience to ensure that you are fully educated and able to handle the latest technologies, threats, and problems.

• Getting a cybersecurity certification exceeds studying about security information. It includes applications in real-world scenarios too. Since cybercrime is always growing, security needs follow suit. A professional must be ready with the latest paths to respond to the variety of challenges and threats that organizations are facing.

• Privacy is a major concern for companies of all sizes. Any certification covers knowledge in multiple areas such as identity management, data protection and access control that gives you the tools to meet the needs of your company.

• Any company views certifications as validation of your knowledge, skills, and expertise in the cybersecurity field. Even if you are experienced for many years, in the IT field, employers want to see the proof of your skills. 

• Cybersecurity certifications allow you to handle multiple scenarios related to compliance, security, privacy and to either set up new systems or work within existing systems to improve security protocols and disaster reflexes within the company.

• Grabbing a Cybersecurity certification in addition to your current credentials can raise your salary by $10,000 or more every year and make you get 24 percent more bonus than uncertified employees. Some of the highest-paid salaries are:

1. Systems Security Administrators: Gets in between$92,750 to $156,000
2. Network Security Administrators: Gets $92,000 to $150,000
3. Chief Security Officers: Gets $145,000 to $248,000

• The value of most cybersecurity certifications is the same around the world, so these degrees stay valid wherever you go. Certification bodies are globally regulated to provide uniformity. So these certifications have become more stable than certain college credentials. 

• When you’re a certified Cybersecurity professional, you pretty much know where you want to join. Healthcare, educational organizations and government sectors all need robust security protocols, and businesses of all sizes are facing unusual security threats. So you could use the knowledge of certification in whatever industry suits you.

• Certification also provides awareness with the modern trends in cybersecurity and the laws which protect data and maintains its privacy. Technologies like AI and IOT have rapidly become standard in many industries making it difficult for IT experts to use their knowledge of the protocols, tools, and strategies needed to improve security and control the access of the user.

• A research conducted by CSO showed that there may be 500,000 or more vacancies in the cybersecurity sector by 2021. By becoming cybersecurity certified, you carry the required credentials to the high demand job market and help to close the need of an industry that is experiencing a serious labor shortage.

How a Cybersecurity Certification Benefit an Organization?

• Certifications are helpful for the holder. It raises your status within the industry and, with it, your job chance. This is because your wisdom and experience can be separately verified with the certification body by merit of that certification.
• In this way, an organization that is seeking to hire a cybersecurity professional can employ certified cybersecurity professional.
• The certification will give the organization full faith to know that the person is skilled, veteran, and will perform their tasks honestly. Your skills will be verified globally, rather than being covered within a country.
• Skilling and certification are critical to address the industry skills shortage. It is vital for all entrants into the cybersecurity field to realize that there is a need to grasp the basics of cybersecurity early on, and this is provided in the certification CBKs that are useful in the exam.

How a CompTIA Cybersecurity Certification Helps IT Professionals?

• Aspirants also need practical work experience in the field in order to learn from those skills and apply the basics they have learned in practice.
• Persons who want to prove a commitment to a career in cybersecurity, grasp the basics and are working hard to get full certification, the Associate program from CompTIA is a great choice.

• Associates turn to full certification holders after they gain the needed work experience for that certification. It is a great option for aspirants who want to have a certification and a career in cybersecurity now, allowing them to show their interest, work ethic, and commitment.

• Ultimately, an excellent competitive profit in the workforce comes from being skilled and accredited in areas where there is a skills shortage. Having experience, techniques, and certification in cybersecurity go a long way to possessing a primary competitive advantage.

Who Should Grab CompTIA Security+ Certification:

• The CompTIA Security+ certification is for professionals who have experience and works with system security, network control, cryptography, assessments and audits, and organizational security. Qualifying the exam is necessary to be certified CompTIA Security+.

• CompTIA does not have an experience requirement for this exam, but they recommend that an individual have at least two years’ experience in the field before seeking the certification.

The Job Scope for Security+ Certified Experts:

The present job market for CompTIA Security+ certified experts is growing. In fact, it has become really hard to think of another job sector with better scopes than cybersecurity persons. Experts are saying that by the end of 2018, there will be a huge vacancy in the cybersecurity field.

About six million cybersecurity professionals are needed but only four million are available. By 2021, based on CyberSecurity Ventures, that gap will increase to 3.5 million vacant places. Clearly, this gap will create an increasing need for learned security professionals and push salaries up according to that. 

Professions after Completing CompTIA Security+ Certification:

Aspirants considering a career in CompTIA Security+ would be wise to consider the following in-demand roles:

• Forensic Investigator
• Auditor
• Security Analyst
• Security Engineer or Architect
• Security/IT Director or Manager
• CISO/CSO, Systems Administrator
• Network Architect or Engineer
• Systems Engineer or Integrator

What is CompTIA CySA+ Certification?

CySA+ is the only interim high-stakes cybersecurity analyst certification that includes performance-based questions covering security analytics, intrusion detection and response. CySA+ is the most updated security analyst certification that covers advanced persistent threats in a post-2014 cybersecurity environment.

Jobs after Getting CySA+ Certification?

• Security operations center (SOC) analyst.
• Vulnerability analyst.
• Cybersecurity specialist.
• Threat intelligence analyst.
• Security engineer.
• Cybersecurity analyst.

What is CompTIA CASP Certification?

The CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) certification is a vendor-neutral certification. It is an internationally targeted approval of advanced-level security knowledge and skills. CASP covers the technical skills and knowledge needed to conceptualize, engineer, integrate and implement secure solutions across complex environments to support a strong enterprise.

Is the CASP Cybersecurity Certification Worth the Investment?

Getting the CASP certification is not easy because a candidate needs to master diverse technologies. So this question must regularly come in the candidates’ minds: “is it worth it?” In order to enjoy the profits of the hard-earned CASP certification, a review of a few desirable job titles might be in order.

Job Roles after CASP Certification:

Senior Information System Security Engineer (ISSE):

An Information Systems Security Engineer (ISSE) is a person responsible to decide system security needs. The persons also design the security layout or architecture and decide needed security tools and use existing tool functionality.

An ISSE must first be aware of the client’s security needs and then take steps to build systems around those needs. The ISSE designs the information system and architecture and selects the parts of the system used to do the needed works.

Senior Information Security Officer: 

The Senior Information Security Officer acts to provide Information on Security concerns. He ensures that the client is docile with internal policies and regulatory needs. In addition to this, the holder will be liable for overseeing risk evaluation and security functions. The role is a mix of Governance, Risk, security operations and observance.

Information Security Manager: 

The duty of an Information Security Manager is to protect their organization’s computers, networks, and data against threats, such as computer viruses or attacks by cyber-criminals, or by security breaches.

These break-ins can disrupt a company’s information technology systems or lead to a loss of confidential documents. The roles of the manager include managing the development of IT security standards, architecture, best practices systems and best practices for more than one functional area.

Chief Information Security Officer:

 A CISO is an executive-level manager who plans operations, strategy and the budget for the safety of enterprise information capitals and also manages that program. The scope of duty will encompass infrastructure, communications, applications including the policies and procedures that are applicable.

Senior Security Engineer:

Security Engineer knows how to design architecture that saves the company. The Security engineer many need to work with other security experts to help reduce damages during current attacks. The engineer helps in planning, implementing, analyzing, maintaining, troubleshooting and enhancing large complex systems or networks. 

Chief Security Officer: 

The Chief Security Officer is the executive responsible for the organization’s entire security profile, both digital and physical. The CSOs overlooks all areas of risk management, security policies, and IT infrastructure. 

What is CompTIA PenTest+?

The PenTest+ is a certification by CompTIA for penetration testers as well as experts that work in a strong cybersecurity position. These people are involved in network security operations or vulnerability assessment. This can cover a wide range of positions but generally relates to positions dedicated to security at an intermediate or higher level.

Expected Job Roles after CompTIA PenTest+:

CompTIA PenTest+ is for IT cybersecurity professionals with three to four years of practical experience security or related knowledge, or equivalent training, looking to start or advance a career in pen-testing. CompTIA PenTest+ prepares candidates for the following job roles:

• Penetration tester
• Vulnerability tester
• Security analyst (II)
• Vulnerability assessment analyst
• Network security operations
• Application security vulnerability

Conclusion:

Firstly, holding a certification depicts your depth of cybersecurity knowledge and skill. It also talks about your particular skill within cybersecurity, depending on the certification you hold with your proven and paid work experience in the field. So to become an expert in cybersecurity, grab the desired certification and shine bright in your career path.

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