Information Assurance - Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI)

2008 was quite a year for change in the IT certification and training industry. The segment of IT certification that saw the most increase was Information Assurance, aka IT security.

The DoD Directive 8570 has paved the way for this stunning growth in the IT security sector. Certifications like Security+ and the CISSP, which were before looked at as nice additions to one's resume, have become mandated for IA government employees.

But this isnt the only reason information assurance training and certification have made such a big push over the last year. Two other main reasons are 1) information intrusions and 2) marketing.

Throughout 2008 we had a handfulof stories about laptops being lost and information being compromised. Not to mention identity theft, it grows more prevalent every day. So the need to lock down and secure information on a macro and micro level is huge. The IT security job sector is the fastest growing job sector in IT and professionals with the right skills and certifications can still almost demand their salary range.

Marketing played a huge role in the growth of IT security and information assurance certifications and the organization that I can attribute much of that to is the EC-Council. In fact, their marketing when it comes to the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) has been fantastic. They weren't even the ones to pioneer the penetration testing and network intrusion vulnerability certification space, but they lead the charge and have done so for the past few years. In fact, Mile 2 came out with their hacking / security certification before EC-Council, and many security experts argue that their content is better. But like Microsoft taught us with the initial expansion of Windows, the product is only a small fraction of the overall growth and popularity of a product.

So the trend in 2008 in IT security (information assurance) was the penetration testing / hacking training and certification. The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exploded, and 2009 that will continue to be the case.

The next thing to emerge this year though, will be the Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), also by the EC-Council. Its best fit for those who have already taken the CEH, but that isn't 100% necessary (although it makes complete sense to take CEH first, trust me). The CHFI takes you, the information assurance expert, into the path of the cyber criminal. You learn to track the cyber crime by retracing the steps of the hacker. Pretty cool, yes. Ton of fun, absolutely.

So happy new year to all in the IT industry, computer training, certification and everyone else. In 2009 watch for the hot information assurance space to blow up even more than it did last year. The two leading the pack, CEH and CHFI. I'll post more soon about the Computer Hacking Foresics Investigator.

How to Find the Right IT Consultants for your Support Needs

This blog obviously focuses on the IT industry's certification realm. Therefore, the title of this post may have thrown you off a little bit, but don't worry, I have a purpose.

IT and Computer Consultants are everywhere. A simple internet search can lead you to a local network or systems admin support firm in your area pretty easily. Most people probably have a friend, relative or neighbor who works for or owns an IT consulting company, they are seemingly a dime a dozen.

Well, in today's market a determining factor on how to find the best IT consulting company is certification. I have personally known over 100+ people who claim(ed) to be a consultant. The one thing that I have found is the a good IT consultant values their progressive learning and stays on top of certification in order to prove their knowledge and improve their support ability.

I can personally point out many people who will tell you that they don't need certifications, they have more experience than the next guy. And thats great, but those types are often complacent with what they know and today's IT is all about knowing the next best thing to improve efficiency, productivity and cost effectiveness.

The consultant that stays up to date on their certifications shows that they are committing to the IT industry and it's progressive nature. If you are looking for support for you Microsoft windows network environment and you run Server 2003, all things equal would you prefer the person with the MCSE 2003 who is currently working on their MCITP - Server Administrator cert (Server 2008) or would you prefer the person who "has their MCSE" and then you come to find out it was for NT4.0, no brainer.

Staying up on certifications ensures that the IT consultant (and the company) is a progressive learner and seeks to be ahead of the game, in a similar manner to what a successful IT foundation does. So when seeking an IT consulting firm ask what certifications the techs have, it's important to the success of your future.

How to Achieve the MCITP Server Administrator

The MCITP-Server Administrator (MCITP-SA) is beginning to make some noise in the IT certification marketplace. Systems administrators in the coming years are going to be seeking this certification and we have discussed before the fact that this basically takes the place of the MCSE in the public spotlight.

One new and nice thing is that the MCITP is now more achievable because it only requires three tests. Over the past few years Microsoft made the MCSE very hard to achieve because there were seven tests and they all were quite sizable and increasingly more difficult.

Even though there are only three tests, the MCITP Server Administrator shouldn't be looked at as a "lower level" certification. The reason is, the three tests required all combine concepts that used to be mixed between the MCSA and MCSE, so it's almost a combination of the two.

So, in order to achieve the MCITP-SA you must pass the following exams:

- 70-640 Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
- 70-642 Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring
- 70-646 Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator

These exams must be taken at any Prometric Testing Center.

IT Salaries Rise, Even in Our Trying Economic Times

There are many facts to support an argument on why the IT industry is the most stable employment industry in our world today. One fact that really makes the case for me is that the average salary range for IT professionals has been consistently on the increase.

Even in these tough economic times the average salary for people in the IT field is growing by quite large margins. This article from MCP Magazine states the average salary for an IT professional has risen for the forth stright year. What's more is that the increase in the 2008 average salary is about 8% over last year's number.