Knowledge needed for Sec504/GCIH course?

grouchy_Smurf

Good day all. Long time reader and first time poster.

I am looking for input from those who have taken the Sec504 (GCIH) course as to what should be known prior to spending the money?

For history I have been in Information Assurance for 7 years doing mostly paper based work and now feel my technical understanding and skills have diminished greatly, my fault for getting to comfortable. I have come to the realization that while someone has to do the paperwork and that's fine I am not taking care of my customers or co-workers when I let my skills fall thru the cracks as I have.

I currently have Comptia A+, Sec+ and passed the GSLC (company funded) at the start of the year. I enjoyed the SANS course but I will have to self fund for SEC504/GCIH so I need to know I have what I need in the knowledge toolbox prior to taking it to ensure I get maximum value.
Would appreciate the input as to what should be know prior to taking and if the course was worth the money? Will test for the cert but want the know how more than the paper.

Thanks for all the information you guys/gals share here!
Grouchy

636-555-3226

no background needed, you'll be taught everything you need to learn. it isn't too in-depth or technically complex. plus you have 4 months to do the labs over and over again

grouchy_Smurf

636-555-3226 wrote: »

no background needed, you'll be taught everything you need to learn. it isn't too in-depth or technically complex. plus you have 4 months to do the labs over and over again

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad to hear its not to technically complex as that was my main concern. Did you learn much and was there a lot of absorb able information?

My primary driver is to be a better security person so I am looking to learn and improve the skills I let lapse.

Thanks!

gwood113

Everything you need to know will be in the books and lecture for both the CTF at the end of the week and for the exam. That being said, general familiarity with Debian Linux, specifically Kali, will be helpful because you spend a lot of your time in Linux (although there's a fairly comprehensive Linux primer at the end of the first day). Also note that they'll give you a Kali-esq VM to work with during the course, but you can just use a Kali (or your favorite Pentest distro) VM and be fine.

Otherwise enjoy yourself; it's a fun class.

636-555-3226

grouchy_Smurf wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad to hear its not to technically complex as that was my main concern. Did you learn much and was there a lot of absorb able information?

My primary driver is to be a better security person so I am looking to learn and improve the skills I let lapse.

Thanks!

Lots to learn. The biggest thing to remember with SANS courses is they do a really good job of setting the stage & giving you a foundation upon which to build. Are you going to learn 100% of everything for every tool in the class, no, but they'll introduce the tool and topic and show you how to use it, then you'll need to spend some extra time (if you want to) further developing the road they started you down

E Double U

I took SEC504 last year and I learned everything I needed to know during the course. The course prerequisites as listed on the SANS site:

• A strong desire to understand hacker tools and techniques
• A foundational understanding of the Windows Command Line
• A foundational understanding of core networking concepts such as TCP/IP
• A strong desire to understand how key defensive tactics can thwart advanced attackers

If you have that you should be good to go. If you really want to do some preparation then do a few web searches on the topics listed under the course syllabus https://www.sans.org/course/hacker-techniques-exploits-incident-handling.

Prior to taking the course, I watched a Intro to Linux videos by John Strand (https://vimeo.com/103717886) and edX (https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-linux-linuxfoundationx-lfs101x-0). That isn't absolutely necessary since there is a Linux intro at the end of the first day, but I liked knowing the basics prior to class.

grouchy_Smurf

You all are great-Thanks. Will let you know how the class works out.