Security for a day

I decided to take a very large leap and attempt one of the toughest, non-specialised, security exams out there, the GIAC Security Expert (GSE) certification

As of today only 16 people hold this qualification. I’ve meet a few of those that hold this certificate and am in no doubt they know their security stuff.

I have to pass a grueling multiple choice exam comprising of 150 question from three SANS courses, 401, 503 and 504, in three hours. Pass mark is 75% – that’s 114 out of the 150 questions.

That’s one foot and a quarter of study and review. Roughly around five kilos for SANS books.

When (note the positive thinking and projection) I pass that then I get allowed to attempt the two day practical hands on lab and exam. This is currently only held in the States.

I’m going to chart my tears, sweat, study, practice labs and progress on http://GSE.Chris-Mohan.com I hope to have people chime in with questions for me and anyone else to attempt to answer as practice.

Why do this to myself?

This is for me to see how much of the years of studying and training on the defensive side has actually sunk in. The two day practical will push me out of any comfort zone I’d like to hide in and give me a real experience of dealing with people a heck of a lot smarter than I am while explaining what I did to protect their systems while under fire. I want to see how I handle this type of situation and pressure.

To me this is more about the experience of those two days and proving I can survive them than the title.