CISA Does NOT an IT Auditor Make

Passing the CISA exam does not make you a good IT auditor anymore than passing a driving test makes you a good driver.
Passing either exam says that you know the basics, but you still have a lot to learn.

Most likely, you still don’t know how and when to use what you know and apply it to the current situation. That’s why experience is necessary. Lots of it.

I’m going on a rant here, so reader beware. If you read on, make sure you hang in there until I make my main point in the end.

You just won’t feel the love right away…

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Use LinkedIn to get an IT Audit job

If you’re looking for an IT Audit job, here’s how to use LinkedIn to get noticed.

In a nutshell, you need to enhance your LinkedIn profile so that everyone knows you’re working hard at learning IT auditor skills.

If you’re already working as an IT auditor, use these suggestions to get noticed more and move ahead (or into another company with more opportunities).

CISSP isn’t as technical anymore

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Several of my friends passed the CISSP exam recently, and told me that it isn’t as technical as I told them it would be.

They said it was more of a security manager certification.

FREE CISSP Cert Webcasts from ISC2

ISC2, the organization that awards the CISSP certification, provides 1 FREE webcast about the 10 CISSP security domains, as well as several FREE webcasts about the CISSP concentrations.

2014 Top Paying Certs (United States)

Below is a list of the top paying certs for 2014 (including average salary amount).

The list is based on the 2014 IT Skills and Salary Survey conducted by Global Knowledge and Penton, completed in October 2013.

After the list, I offer a few comments on some of the certs and the salaries.

Free CISA Prep: Self-Assessment Exam

If you’re planning to take the CISA exam, you need to take ISACA‘s own CISA Self-Assessment exam (get it here).

The exam consists of 50 questions that allow exam candidates to “assess their knowledge of the CISA job practice areas and determine in which information security areas they may have strengths and weaknesses.”

Why CISSP?

This post answers these questions: Why get the CISSP certification? What has it done for me? What else do I need to know?

Charles, one of my readers, asked me, “Do you have postings related to CISSP?” Not many, but here’s one….

Master List of CISA Articles

To make these posts easier to find (and link to), here’s a list of all the CISA-related posts on this blog, in alphabetical order.
I’ll add other CISA posts as they are written.

CISA vs. CIA Certification

If you’re an IT auditor (or want to be one) and don’t have any audit certifications, which certification should you get, the CISA or the CIA? If you want to get both, which one do you get first?

Full disclosure: I have the CISA, but not the CIA. Back when the CIA was 4 exams, I studied for all the CIA exams except the financial exam, but ended up not taking any of the exams. I also have the CISSP.

Biggest Problem in Computer Security

What’s the biggest problem in computer security, according to valsmith at carnal0wnage.attackresearch.com? Well, it’s…

Staffing.

As the author admits, the post leans toward self-promotion of the company, but it makes many good points and deserves a read and a good pondering.

FREE CISA Study Guide

When I was studying for the CISA, I created a 40-page study guide for myself that you can download for free.

If you decide to use it, here’s a couple points to keep in mind:

Top 7 Reasons for Security Certification

Here’s my top 7 reasons for getting a security certification:

1. It opens the hiring door. Or more simply stated, employers are looking for them. More and more, if you’re not certified, your resume won’t get past Human Resources. When they scan your application and resume, you’ll end up in the digital delete bucket if the screening software doesn’t see those special letters (CISSP, GIAC, CISA, CCSP, CISM, etc.).

Security Certs for Commoners? Nope

SC Magazine’s CISSP! Who Cares? article says that security certifications are not as valuable as they used to be because they are rather commonplace. Too many people going for the same job have the same qualifications. However, that is not my experience, and I disagree with some of the article’s statements.

I earned my CISSP more than 5 years ago. Let’s take a look at a couple companies I’ve worked for and count the CISSPs…

More on the CisA Exam

This topic will be assorted rambles and comments regarding what I now call the “CisA” exam. Check out this post that started it all:  Where is the IS in CISA?

How to Pass Certification Exams

Getting ready to take the CISA, CISM, CISSP, CIA, PMP, MCSE, or other certification exams? Here’s what you need to do to pass those tests:

Top 10 Pay-Boosting Tech Certifications

According to Dice, the job search site, certain certifications increase technology professionals’ salaries at all experience levels.

After surveying nearly 17,000 techies, Dice found that the following certifications draw the most additional dollars (no particular order):

Teach Yourself Security

What does it take to get started in information security? Can you teach yourself security?

This field requires you to understand how PCs, mobile devices, applications, servers, protocols, and networks operate. It helps to have a lot of curiosity and a good sense of where trouble lurks. And don’t forget Unix/Linux (more on that later).

I started as a PC support guy, became a server administrator, managed a network, and then became a security analyst. For me, it was a natural progression, but that’s the “old school” way of doing it. Security training was scarce, and there were few to no institutions offering training specific to that area. Also, the internet was still growing, and there were few security websites or blogs to learn from.