CompTIA
Entry
CompTIA Security+
Vendor-neutral proof of core security administration skills, tested partly through performance-based tasks and mapped by CompTIA to DoD 8140 work roles
- Exam
- $439
- Study
- 3-6 months
Skill
Security Architecture
Security Architecture designs secure systems from the ground up. It's about creating defense-in-depth strategies and secure network designs.
Design
Learning path
Master security fundamentals, learn architecture patterns, practice design.
Career relevance
Essential for security architects, principal engineers, tech leads.
Practice projects
Threat-model a simple web app
Draw the data flows for a small app, apply STRIDE to each flow and list the controls that address each threat.
What you'll have: A data-flow diagram with threats and controls mapped to it.
Design a segmented company network
Design a network for a 50-person company with separate zones for staff, servers and guests, and justify every control between zones.
What you'll have: A network diagram and a one-page design rationale.
Certifications teaching Security Architecture
Entry1
Advanced1
ISC2
Advanced
Certified Cloud Security Professional
Vendor-neutral proof that you can secure cloud architecture, data and operations, and handle the legal and contract side of cloud services
- Exam
- $599
- Study
- 4-8 months
Expert1
ISC2
Expert
Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Proves five years of security experience across eight broad domains, endorsed by a peer and tested on an adaptive exam of up to 150 items
- Exam
- $749
- Study
- 6-12 months