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Is the Cisco Security path [a path by itself]?

cmztech

Hello TE, my question is very simple and hopefully unique to other security path questions.

I want to know, in particular, is the Cisco Security path [a path by itself]?

In other words, does the Cisco Security track encompass a complete Security skill set that doesn't need other non-Cisco certs? Feel free to guide my way of thinking on this, I am trying to focus a rather blurry picture of the Security field at higher levels.

Thank you for your time.

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Comments

cmztech

I hope I haven't asked a silly question? Trying to bump this so people can have another look after I have edited to be short and to the point.

markulous

I'm not really sure what you're asking. If you're asking if having a CCIE-Security would be the end all be all to security, I would say definitely not.

cmztech

Thanks markulous. The way you reworded it sounds more direct. I'd like to try and build on that.

I'm under the following impressions:

1. A person will not be able to master (all) areas of security. Hence, this is why we have specialist in different areas to not stretch one person's duties so thin.

2. If #1 is correct, then this means mastery of one particular skill set, for one particular role, is an option.

So, in essence, would a person with CCIE Security require any other non-Cisco skills to be considered any more masterful in that particular path or role?

(This would be the difference between me focusing 100% of my time and energy in pursuing CCIE Security or less than 100% and divide my time between that and learning other skills)

TechGuru80

Cisco certifications mean you are knowledgeable about Cisco technologies. That means Cisco IDS/IPS, Firewalls, etc.....however as far as Network Security, Cisco isn't the clearcut leader (different than routing and switching where they do have a large market share).

The issue with vendor specific certifications is that you will have knowledge of the subject from a conceptual point of view no matter what, but actually being able to execute requires you to be using that technology. To cover your basis if you want to do network security, I would also look into Palo Alto and Checkpoint training. You could always start down the path of Cisco and then pivot to the other vendors if required.

cmztech

Okay, that's some really good info, thanks TechGuru80. I also found your footer link to be valuable.

This has definitely removed some barriers in my thinking and got my research going again. Thanks again, mark & tech, for commenting.

UnixGuy

cmztech wrote: »

....that doesn't need other non-Cisco certs? .....

Look, you can be very successful in the security (and IT in general) world without any certifications. You don't need any certifications, they just help you land new job, validate information you have, form a structured way for you to study. etc etc.

Cisco certifications will make you strong in the network security area. This won't help you if you want to be an auditor for example, but you can't (or shouldn't want) to be everything at the same time. Cisco certifications are great if you want to work in Network security.

Danielm7

Agree with the others above. We have a ton of Cisco gear, Sourcefire, ISE, etc. But, we also have Fortinets, F5s, etc, the people in network security don't know just one vendor, they know concepts and apply them to all different vendors to make them all work well together. If someone here said, "I only work on Cisco gear" they wouldn't last very long.

E Double U

cmztech wrote: »

does the Cisco Security track encompass a complete Security skill set that doesn't need other non-Cisco certs?

My CCNP Security experience focused on Cisco equipment, but I still walked away with an understanding of firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPN, and AAA that I could apply to other vendors. If you understand the access rule components of source/destination/port/action on an ASA then you should be able to apply that concept to a Check Point or Palo Alto box. But Cisco didn't teach me about SIEM, DLP, vulnerability scanners, email/web gateways, IDM, MDM, and other technologies I got hands on experience with.

When studying for the CISSP, my years of Cisco experience helped a lot with the telecommunications & network security domain, but my Cisco knowledge wasn't put to use when trying to learn about physical security, BCM/DRP, risk mgmt, security models, and more. Cisco offers a piece of the security spectrum which is very broad.