Gibson - SSCP systems security certified practitioner: all-in-one exam guide

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To my wife Nimfa

Thanks for sharing your life with me for the past 23 years and letting me share mine with you.

Darril Gibson is the CEO of YCDA, LLC (short for You Can Do Anything) and he has authored or coauthored more than 35 books. Darril regularly writes, consults, and teaches on a wide variety of technical and security topics and holds several certifications, including (ISC)2 SSCP and CISSP; CompTIA Security+ and CASP; Microsoft MCSE and MCITP; and ITIL Foundations. In response to repeated requests, Darril created the http://gcgapremium.com/ site where he provides additional study materials for several certification exams. He regularly posts blog articles (http://blogs.getcertifiedgetahead.com/) about certification topics and uses that site to help people stay abreast of changes in certification exams. You can contact him through either of these sites. Darril lives in Virginia Beach with his wife and two dogs. Whenever possible, they escape to a small cabin in the country on over 20 acres of land that continues to provide them with peace, tranquility, and balance.

Josh More has more than 15 years of experience in security, IT, development, and system and network administration. Currently, he runs Eyra Security, a security and business improvement consulting firm based in Minneapolis, MN. Josh holds several security and technical certifications and has served in a leadership position on several security-focused groups. He writes a blog on security at www.starmind.org, often taking a unique approach to solving security problems by applying lessons from other disciplines like agile development, lean manufacturing, psychology, economics and complexity science. He has also written several books on IT, information security, and career management.

Books are never done alone but instead are a result of collaboration among many people. Im very grateful for the hard work done by several people on this project, including Tim Green, who had the faith in me to write the book; Meghan Manfre and Amy Stonebraker, who helped keep the project on track; and Josh More, the technical editor who provided some thoughtful feedback. Im especially grateful to the copy editor, Bill McManus, who expended a great deal of time and energy on this book. Not only did he do standard copyediting, he also helped identify and correct several technical issues within the content. Thanks again, Bill. And, of course, Im very grateful for the support my wife gave me as I worked on this update, giving me the time and space I needed to finish it in a timely manner.

The importance of information technology (IT) security increases every day. The news is filled with reports of data breaches where customer data is lost and companies are forced to scramble with crisis management. Rarely a day goes by when users dont see phishing e-mails in their inbox, with each phishing e-mail trying to trick them into clicking an unsafe link or giving up valuable information. Individual botnets commonly control tens of thousands of computers, all ready at a moments notice to launch attacks.

All of these risks can cause substantial losses for an organization. Instead of waiting for an incident and then responding, organizations are realizing they must be more proactive with IT security. The alternative is to do nothing and then watch profits slip away.

More IT security jobs have become available to fill this void, but employers often find it difficult to locate professionals with the right mix of knowledge and skills, including security knowledge and skills. Hiring managers typically want to have some indication that the person theyre hiring for an IT job has at least some security knowledge, and thats where certifications fit in. Individuals with a security certification such as the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) will often get the job interview, while individuals without a security certification may be overlooked.