GCFA or GSNA or CISA (Need Advice)

abiisharma

Hello,

I am a Unix/Linux and IT infrastructure administrator. I have 8 years of experience in it and now I am feeling that my career is stagnant. Therefore, I want to add more skills to my profile relating to auditing and security of IT infrastructure.

I researched on Google and found some useful information about certifications :- GCFA, GSNA, CISA.

I am interested in all three certifications:) , but I am not been able to decide which one would be best to go with, according to my profile and how can it improve my resume to secure good position in future.

I really appreciate if someone can please guide me.

Thank you.

-Abii

636-555-3226

GCFA isn't anything like CISA or GSNA. It's mostly incident-response based, not auditing. CISA will give you a better resume boost, but the only real path that goes down is being an auditor, and have you talked to anybody in the internal audit space yet? if not, hit up some locals on LinkedIn and ask if you can get their opinion on whether you'd be hirable with a CISA but no real auditing experience.

GSNA is technical-based and a good intro primer for auditing, but in the end is really an entirely different content base than CISA. Both are OK.

Could also consider the GCCC - SEC566: Implementing and Auditing the Critical Security Controls - In-Depth. Lots of companies are jumping on the Top 20 bandwagon and need someone to help implement/audit

abiisharma

Thank you for you reply. It really cleared lot of things for me.

After you explanation, for sure I am not considering GCFA.

Since, CISA is best among all, but it would need a 5 year experience. I think GSNA would be be good for me in current situation, as it will be similar to my current profile of UNIX administration. GCCC seems advanced level of it (please correct me if I a wrong).

I checked the self study material is pretty expensive, is there any source from where I can get it in nominal price.

-Abii

abiisharma

I had discussion with my friends too as some of them are preparing for CISA. They are also suggesting me to go for CISA, since it has more credibility over GIAC.

Will it add benefit to my job profile of Unix system administrator? I personally feel that knowledge of IT security along with system administration skills can land me in perfect position. I appreciate if you can advise on it.