CASP Vs CISSP Security Certifications: Choose the Best

Certification: ISC CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional

In the present scenario, the Information Security industry is growing faster than before. Its high time to look for the most sought after certifications required for working in the information security industry. Today we are going to focus on two certifications CompTIA’s CASP and ISC^2’s CISSP, and look which is better and which should be opted.

Both the CASP and CISSP certifications are vendor –neutral, focusing on the general security approaches, solutions and technologies. We will be comparing both the certification, but before that have a closer look to both.

CompTIA CASP

Like every other certification of CompTIA, this certification is also vendor neutral. It does not have any prerequisites, but it requires the individual to have 10+ years of experience. This is a step ahead of CompTIA Security+ certification. This exam is responsible for target validation of advanced level of security skills and knowledge accepted internationally. The CompTIA CASP is based on CompTIA Security+ and focuses on the technical and enterprise level.

The exam measures the student’s skills and technical knowledge that is required to design conceptualizes, and engineer solutions that are secure in complex environments. The candidates who clear the exam apply their critical thinking and judgment over a broad range. The question paper of CASP consist of 80 questions covering topics like Enterprise Security, Research and Analysis, Risk Management, Policy/Procedure and Legal, Integration of Computing, Business Disciplines, and Communications.

ISC² CISSP

The international Information Systems Security Certification Consortium governs CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) which is an independent certification for information security. The certification is valid worldwide according to the reports of (ISC)2. The CISSP obtained the ANSI ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2003 accreditation in June 2004. Te certification is also approved by Department of Defense of US, for both of Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Information Technical Managerial (IAM) categories. It is the baseline certification for the US National Security Agency’s ISSEP program.

The individual looking for getting CISSP certified should have five years of IT experience or four years of experience and a degree, in addition to this you have to score 70 percent in the test having 250 multiple choice questions. The question paper of CISSP consists of 250 questions with allotted time of 6 hours. The test shows that whosoever clears it learnt about the broad knowledge of security and earned a passing score in lengthy, intense and expensive paper. The certified professionals who have the CISSP certification need to have five year of experience in the IT industry to secure their certification.

CASP vs CISSP

The CISSP is more accepted than CASP; CISSP is widely accepted and is considered the standard certification for the security professionals. It is the most opted certification by the IT professionals as it has more weightage than any other certification. The CISSP exam is more longer and harder, consists of 250 questions for 6 hrs, while CASP is 2 hour exam of 80 questions. The candidates have to verify their prior experience after they pass the exam they need to get authorized from a person holding the certificate and have a stand in the industry. So if the CISSP is the best what is the need of CASP? CASP is being accepted because of being cheaper, easier, requires no recommendation, etc. and it can be a confidence booster to the IT professionals. The question is which should be obtained CASP or CISSP. You should go for CISSP, because CASP is being cheap, easier but is not that much useful professionally. CISSP is though not as eminent as it used to be, but it still has more weightage, but the CASP is not.

Differences between the both exams

Both the test involves hard work, dedication towards achieving the target. The tests are not atall easy, where CISSP have enough study material on the other hand CASP don’t have enough material to study. As stated by many CASP is considered more technical than CISSP which is more administrative. This is might be true, but the CASP is straight forward in comparison to CISSP which have questions to select the competent candidates. The CASP takes few hrs to complete in comparison to CISSP which is rigorous exam of 6 hours with questions checking the ability of the candidates. So it can be said that CISSP is more sought after and rigorous. The CISSP exam have 250 question in 6hrs while CASP have 80 questions in 2 and half hrs most of the people will respect you too attempt CISSP.

Why the preference of CISSP over CASP

Choosing between CISSP and CASP is not all easy. CISSP is more industry based, technical, updated, have performance based questions that allow you to have better knowledge of the security systems. In comparison to CASP which is less rigorous, cheaper than CISSP, have straight forward questions, making the candidate easier to clear the exam. Having a CISSP certification will benefit you more than CASP.

Individuals having CISSP certifications, provides an organization the working knowledge of system security. The certification gives them confidence to be committed to their profession. The certification provides them differentiation between career options, on the basis of marketability and credibility of the job option. The certification provides you certain benefits, like exchange of ideas and peer networking. The certification allows you to earn comparatively more than the individuals without the certifications. The certification allows individuals to fulfill requirements of government and private organization for security certifications.

The certification will allow the employers to position the candidates on the field that are recognized internationally. While working with contractors and vendors, the certification provides the employers increased work credibility. Because of all these benefits CISSP is most sought after certification despite being tough and costly.

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