Passed Network+; need some direction.

Samurai004

I thought I failed...actually I thought I failed so bad I broke the pc. My test was being graded then a windows error popped up, so I decided it would be prudent to escalate the incident. I slowly slid my chair back and walked to the front desk. I told them about the error. They started troubleshooting my pc. After about 20 minutes and a call to CompTIA tech support they, told me I passed with an 835 (92.7%).

While I was waiting I was thinking, man did I do so badly the pc just gagged on all my answers lol.

Well I have been lurking here for several months now. But with A+ (used Sybex, TestOut CBT and ExamCram) and Network+ (Mike Meyers Net+ and Passport) under my belt, I decided to say hello. So "Hello everyone!"

My next challenge is Security+. Then, either Server+ or Linux+, hopefully by the end of this year. I have worked for 7 years full time as a cop in a very busy city, so I might only get two more certs done by year's end.

I ultimately want to get into Network Security. I have a 4 year criminal justice degree from a private university from 2002 (gpa 3.92). I plan on getting quality certifications for the next two years while my wife is a full-time nursing student. Then, I want to either take 8 classes (4 of which are online available) and get my Associates in Network Engineering (apparently a strong focus on Cisco routers and prepping for the CCNA). Or get another bachelor's in C.S. or I.T. from Frankilin University. The community college also offers a certificate program called Advance Network Engineering and it preps for the CCNP certification, so I would likely do this also if I went the Associate's degree route.

I guess I would like some feedback of how to best utilize my time, money and energy. I don't have a problem doing the work as long as I know it will make me a better candidate and employee. I want to completely get out of police work and go private sector also, I am soooo burned out on the criminal justice system. But, for now it is a reliable job while my wife is a full-time student.


If I had to retake the test this would have been the pc...but I had a gun in the car!

L0gicB0mb508

Well you mention that you want to get into network security. Is your end goal to work on intrusion detection systems, firewalls, and things of that nature? If it is, that's the way to go. You first need to have a deep knowledge of the network you are going to protect. CCNA is usually a very good start into the networking world. It will give you the insight to be able to understand the concepts more in depth, which in turn means you can defend your network better. Your law enforcement background will more than likely even make your a bit more marketable. A lot of security pros, do not understand simple concepts of chain of custody, incident response, and things of that nature. I definitely do see that as being a big plus for you. As far as certifications go, I'd get the CCNA and Sec+ as a good jumping off point. After you get your hands dirty you can go more in depth with your studies.


Good luck!

Samurai004

First of all thanks for the quick reply.

I believe that intrusion detection is very appealing to me. I have a rather unique opportunity to take some classes at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) in such areas as "Digital Forensic Data Recovery" and "Cybercrime First Responder". These classes are exclusively offered to sworn officers. I would like to take these classes also eventually.

The chain of custody, court procedure and evidence preservation does seem like a strong benefit of my current job. I am currently a Crime Scene Technician (CST). I work uniform patrol but also am available for crime scene processing if needed. But I have never had to work any "cybercrime" scenes yet. I am the midnight shift go to guy for computer problems though.

So would you go for the Bachelors or the Associates to suppliment my current degree if you were in my situation?

I would like Certified Ethical Hacker also, but I think it requires proof of a certain amount of direct work experience????

L0gicB0mb508

I would really go for a bachelors. I think it would be better for you in the long term. I cant really remember what types of experience EC Council requires for the CEH. CEH is more geared towards a pen tester/auditor versus someone who is strictly network security. Although I'm sure the tools would be a great benefit to learn. You may want to get some experience with the Linux operating system. Most of the tools required for the CEH are used on a *nix system.

You can actually start playing with IDS at home. Snort is an open source (free) IDS sensor. You can download Snort and the rule set for it from Snort :: Home Page .There are also great install docs for it, that should get you from zero to up and running in short order. There is an install guide that is written for CentOS/Fedora Linux with a web front end called BASE. It would actually be probably the easiest for you to get a general feel for how an IDS works, and what the alerts are going to generate. You could actually set up Snort on your home network and see what all types of nasties are coming into your internal network. I definitely can say that setting up Snort, and using it regularly (for work and fun) has given me some insight how most intrusion detection systems work/look like. It will also help to understand common attacks, as you can inspect the payloads of packets.

L0gicB0mb508

Oh by the way, I work in the law enforcement arena as well. Welcome to the forums.

abefroman

If you don't know a whole lot of Linux, get that cert next, Linux/Unix experience is invaluable, especially for computer crimes.

I'm planning on taking my Network+ soon. I am already a Linux expert so I'm not getting the Linux+. I hope to go onto the Security+ then CISSP after the Network+. I am not in law enforcement but would like to do that someday.