Other programs on the market claim to ready students for jobs as penetration testers, they simply do not dive as deep or demand as much proof of skills as EC-Council’s new LPT exam does.
Albuquerque, NM (PRWEB) May 14, 2014
EC-Council will now require Licensed Penetration Testing (LPT) candidates to prove their skills by requiring them to hack a cloud-based infrastructure that mimics a large organization. Candidates will be required to report their findings as if they were completing a professional pen test for a client organization. This new exam format raises the bar on what typical IT security certification exams require of candidates.
According to EC-Council’s President, Jay Bavisi, “While many cyber security professionals are able to scan a network or write a good report, few are truly able to demonstrate the skills required by these professionals in the execution of their jobs. They lack the skills to reverse engineer, write custom code, or even interpret what’s key in the piles of data in front of them.” Bavisi added, “Other programs on the market claim to ready students for jobs as penetration testers, they simply do not dive as deep or demand as much proof of skills as EC-Council’s new LPT exam does.”
EC-Council developed this program to mitigate the enormous risk corporations face when they hire under-prepared penetration testers. The Licensed Penetration Tester program simulates real world scenarios in ways that no lab environment or training course ever has before. Pen Testers have access to some of a company’s most sensitive data and security systems during a live penetration test – and many training programs are simply failing to produce skilled professionals.
The LPT program prepares the students to execute the highly demanding job of a real world cyber professional. Candidates that successfully demonstrate high-level penetration testing and security auditing abilities via a cloud-based cyber range leave the program ready to work in corporate environments.
Securing an organization’s data in today’s world of ever-changing threats is a very different proposition than it was just 5 years ago. Today, 66% of breaches remain undiscovered for a month or longer, giving the perpetrators of cybercrimes plenty of time to evaluate and steal sensitive information. Thorough pen testing can help teams have clear plans for when breaches do happen. An example of a breach being detected but not mitigated is found in the recent Target breach where expensive detection systems in place did not stop the theft of information because there was no plan in place for this scenario.
Because of headline-grabbing security incidents making their way more frequently to mainstream news, penetration testers and other information security professionals are in demand more than ever. The US Pentagon alone plans to have 6,000 cyberwarriors by 2016 and the 2014 Global Salary Survey predicts a huge demand for security staff at increasingly higher salaries.
However, in order to take advantage of the favorable market, penetration testers must keep abreast of the incredible pace of malware permutations, hacking tools, and industry methodology in order to effectively do their jobs. One way to do this is through ongoing training by industry leaders.
The LPT program is also the only program that gives students the EC-Council LPT methodology, the step-by-step guides and industry best practices to students, arming them with the tools they will undoubtedly need to conduct penetration testing and security audits appropriately. EC-Council predicts that many candidates who believe themselves to be well qualified will be astounded by how much they don’t know once they enter the program.
About EC-Council
The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various e-business and security skills. EC Council is the owner and developer of the world-famous E-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (C|HFI), Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), License Penetration Tester (LPT) programs, and various others offered in over 60 countries around the globe. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the US Federal Government via the Montgomery GI Bill, and the US Government National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) certifying EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH), Network Security Administrator (ENSA), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), Disaster Recovery Professional (EDRP), Certified Security Analyst (E|CSA) and Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) program for meeting the 4011, 4012, 4013A, 4014, 4015 and 4016 training standards for information security professionals and most recently EC-Council has received accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
For more information about EC-Council, please visit http://www.eccouncil.org.