Any business or organization, no matter how small or large, needs to protect their viable data assets, both on-board and on cloud manifestations. These assets can include a wide array of sensitive information such as financial data, user's data, and the company’s confidential information about employees, networking, and other vitalities. If this information is not protected or rendered secure, then it can cause serious havoc among an organization's networking systems and provide the hackers with backdoors to access this information.
To make sure that doesn't happen, several compliances and certifications protect your interests both on-board and or on cloud systems. The SSCP (System security certified practitioner) and the CCSP (Certified cloud security professional) focuses on two distinct types of security systems that are networking security and cloud security. The same organization issues both these certifications, yet the nature of two is considerably different, the parent organization is known as International Information System Security Certification Consortium or simply (ISC)2.
Direct links between SSCP and CCSP
SSCP offers complete network protection, and the administrator specialized in this certification is trained enough to provide a delicate layout for the network infrastructure and how to render it secure. He/she might build secure settings such as install firewalls, antivirus, and related security manifestations to improve onboard data retention and security. On the other hand, a CCSP professional is more concerned about the transfer of on-board data onto the cloud systems and then render it safe by implementing cloud-oriented software/tools.
Although the import of on-premises data over to the cloud system sounds more secure and the work of SSCP thereby concluded, but there is more to that. Once all the data is being transferred to the encrypted cloud systems, the services of an SSCP professional are required for effective maintenance and installation of firewalls and security updates for the cloud. So, the work of one is never actually done; there is always a need of the other for a consistent balance and harmony between complete networking and cloud systems.
Eligibility Criteria: SSCP Vs. CCSP
To enroll oneself in the SSCP certification, the candidate must have a whole year experience in one or more than one of the seven working domains for the SSCP. After they have provided with the experience, they can appear in the SSCP exam, and to finally obtain their certification, the candidate is then required to gain two-year experience in the dedicated domain or domains of the SSCP.
On the other hand, the CCSP is more strict when it comes to providing certification; the candidate must have at least five years of paid experience, of those five their three years must be related to information technology and the other two years in one of the 6 domains of the CCSP. If the candidate doesn't have the experience, then they can become associate of the (ISC)2 by appearing in exams and then are required a 6-year expertise to earn their CCSP certification.
Advantages of SSCP certified professional
- Ultimate career advancement: one of the key benefits of being an SSCP expert is that you get an ultimate career boost with only 2 years of experience in the field. You can land a decent job as an IT infrastructure security officer.
- Multiple skillsets: As this certification deals with multiple disciplines coinciding with each other, you get a diversified skillset to implement over various methodologies and problems throughout your career.
- Indefinite knowledge: As your part of the job, you are always in interaction with implementation, overseeing, maintenance as well as administration of various security and networking parameters, this increases your horizon of technical knowledge.
- Access to the global community: once you have successfully obtained your SSCP certificate, you get unlimited access to the worldwide networking representatives and other SSCP officials to share your thought and get incredible feedback from them.
Advantages of CCSP certified professional
- Advancement in career: The career advancements are a little different than the SSCP professionals as they have access to the cloud computing and cloud security knowledge and have a lot of opportunities and sophisticated careers waiting for them.
- Versatility: Unlike SSCP professionals, the versatility in their skillset is bound to the cloud systems and security interfaces. They don't enjoy the luxury of working with on-premises systems like SSCP professionals.
- A wealth of knowledge: Cloud computing and information security are, without any doubt, are going to be the dawn of a new technological era. It is going to be widely administered via all corporations and conglomerates, so the demand for cloud induced maintenance, implementation, and up-gradation of cloud security architecture is imminent. Completing your CCSP gives you access to incredible knowledge and wealth of information to deal with all the requirements of cloud security.
- Professional community: Completing your CCSP will land you access to all the best of the best professionals of the cloud security and share the intellect with likeminded professionals.
Conclusion
On the bright side of things, a brief comparison can't be carried out, such as which certification is best for me or my business. Is it SSCP or CCSP, the general understanding of their working won't leave you divided between a selection between the two because SSCP certification is only of importance to you if your job is to ensure system security on-premises. On the other hand, if you are required to perform your duties with the cloud security or your company stores all their essential data on cloud computers, then CCSP without any doubt is the right element for you to choose.
On a departing note, the SSCP certification verifies that the concerned individual has advanced technical knowledge of implementing, monitoring, and administrating the IT infrastructure for an entire organization. On the other hand, the CCSP certification directs that the individual has cleared the requirements to become a professional in cloud security, implementation, maintenance, and development of cloud infrastructure along with its dedicated applications. Determine particular criteria that you demand or in search of and choose the certification, respectively.