Grow your skills with the EC-Council extensive certification program and educational resources. This top-notch multinational organization is well-recognized among tech specialists who want to improve their knowledge and become adept in cybersecurity.

EC-Council Certification Program

Every certificate offered by EC-Council is targeted to a specific set of individuals. More so, these are categorized accordingly to help you choose the right path according to your preferences and career aspirations. Thus, the main certification sections offered by this vendor are Fundamentals, Core, Advanced, Management, Security Awareness, and Specialist. All these categories house at least one professional designation related to penetration testing, ethical hacking, encryption, information security, incident handling, etc. Now that you know this, let's delve into the EC-Council top-notch qualifications that most of the candidates try to procure.

Glimpse of Validations on Offer

One of the most in-demand certifications from EC-Council is no other than the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), which equips you with relevant hacking techniques and methodologies. By attaining this designation, you’ll prove that you have the right skills to lawfully hack and penetrate an organization. In more detail, this particular certification introduces you to the critical aspects of ethical hacking, including hacking challenges, attack vectors, malware reverse engineering, cloud computing, and operation technology, among others. Besides, other impressive certifications available are the EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH), Certified SOC Analyst (CSA), Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI), and such.

Suitable Candidates for Certifications

Remarkably, the EC-Council designations cater to a wide range of tech specialists. These include information security analysts, information security managers, information systems security engineers, IT auditors, risk analysts, system administrators, network engineers, and the like.

Overview of Affiliated Exams

If you want a more detailed grasp of the aforementioned EC-Council endorsements, let’s put into the spotlight its relative certification tests:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (312-50 Evaluation)

  First on the list is the 312-50 exam, which is the primary requirement for the CEH certification. The coverage of the test starts with an introduction to ethical hacking and then continues with footprinting, reconnaissance, network functions, and enumeration. It also highlights pertinent subjects such as system hacking, vulnerability analysis, malware threats, session hijacking, social engineering, sniffing, denial-of-service, SQL injection, cryptography, and cloud computing. Lastly, it takes into account your knowledge of hacking web applications, web servers, wireless networks, and mobile platforms, along with evading honeypots, firewalls, and IDS. In addition, such an exam requires you to complete 125 multiple-choice questions within 4 hours. Do take note that each question has a corresponding level of difficulty that contributes to the overall cut score, which ranges from 60% to 85%.

• EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (212-89 Exam)

  Next on the list is the 212-89 test, the mandatory evaluation designed for the ECIH qualification. This specialist-level designation validates your proficiency as an incident handler and response practitioner. It furnishes you with a deep-seated understanding of incident handling so you can capably respond to various cybersecurity incidents in a more practical approach. Besides, the main exam imparts you with the ability to draft security policies, distinguish threats, recover from attacks, mitigate negative impact, reduce after-effects of incidents, and ensure the quality of service. As to the specifications of the test, you need to accomplish 100 questions, which are formatted into multiple choices. Plus, you are given up to 3 hours to answer all the items, and the cut score for this one is also from 60% to 85%.

• Certified SOC Analyst (312-39 Test)

  Demonstrate your expertise in a SOC workflow by completing this 312-39 exam. The objective of such a test is to validate your comprehension of the key tasks associated with a SOC analyst. In particular, these include providing relevant security services such as detecting potential threats, gauging intrusion attempts quickly by responding to security incidents, using SIEM solutions, and performing threat detection via threat intelligence. In general, with the help of the 312-39 exam, you will be shaped into a front-line defender who notifies other professionals of possible and present cyberattacks. And if you pass the evaluation, then you’ll earn the coveted CSA certification. When it comes to the nature of the actual test, it runs for up to 3 hours, with a total number of 100 items in multiple-choice type. Besides, you must get at least 70% to successfully complete the test and obtain the certificate.

• Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (312-49 Exam)

  Moving forward, if you’re interested in the legal aspect of cybersecurity, then try to prepare for the 312-49 evaluation and secure the CHFI certification. This is the best path to polish your skills in the methodology of detecting hacking attacks, extracting evidence, and conducting audits. It also equips you with understanding in computer forensics, electronic evidence collection, audit trail, anti-forensics detection, event co-relation, and expert witness testimony, among others. All these insights will support your transformation into becoming a credible digital forensic or computer forensics specialist, who can competently gather and present evidence in a court of law. As for the actual exam, it consists of 150 items, all of which are styled in multiple-choice format. For the test duration, it lasts up to 4 hours. And just like other EC-Council certification tests, the cut score for this one is from 60% to 78%.

Career Opportunities Unlocked

EC-Council is such a remarkable opportunity for anyone who wants to excel in the field of cybersecurity. It’s so because it supports a lot of job roles, including an ethical hacker, cybersecurity engineer, penetration tester, security architect, information security manager, digital forensic investigator, and more. In general, these positions enjoy better job placements and lucrative benefits. Additionally, if you have an EC-Council validation, your salary becomes even more fascinating. For instance, cybersecurity analysts normally get $77k on average, but with the Certified Ethical Hacker certification, your wage balloons to $83k per year as it’s given by PayScale. So, if you’ve been eyeing to nurture your skills and increase your professional worth, you won’t go wrong with the EC-Council.

Career Path to Follow

Each EC-Council designation is designed for a particular security group. Henceforth, if you want to obtain a certification from them, it’s important that you weigh your qualifications beforehand and ensure that your background fits the prerequisites. Generally, you may possibly start with the fundamentals endorsements ― the EC-Council Certified Security Specialist (ECSS) and the EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES) to help plot your career goals. Then, if you want a more focused specialization, you can choose one of the core validations, including the Certified Network Defender (CND) and the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). To further enhance your skills, continue with the CEH Master or the Certified Network Defense Architect (CNDA). For some advanced certificates, you have the Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT), Advanced Penetration Testing (APT), Certified Blockchain Professional (CBP), Certified SOC Analyst (CSA), and more.