What is the GISP certification and how does it compare to the CISSP certification?

What is the GISP certification and how does it compare to the CISSP certification?

What is the GISP certification and how does it compare to the CISSP certification?

    Requires Free Membership to View

    SearchSecurity.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to breaking industry news, virus alerts, new hacker threats, highly focused security newsletters, and more -- all at no cost. Join me on SearchSecurity.com today!

    Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSecurity.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

Honestly, I didn't know what the GISP certification was prior to this question, so thanks for forcing me to broaden my horizons a bit. The GISP certification comes from the SANS institute and is analogous to the (ISC)2's CISSP certification. Both are termed "intermediate"-level certifications and indicate a broad (though not necessarily deep) understanding of information security topics.

In fact, SANS offers a training course specifically for the CISSP exam that can also be used to prepare for the GISP test. Since there is a lot more name recognition for the CISSP (as opposed to the GISP), why bother with the GISP?

The only time it's worthwhile to consider the GISP is if you can't qualify for a CISSP, which usually means a lack of experience. The CISSP requires four years of relevant work experience, which a lot of people may not have. Thus the GISP becomes a potential substitute, for a couple of years anyway.

Though as I've written many times in the past, certifications don't necessarily indicate competence.

More information:

This was first published in October 2008