GIAC Certified Security Expert (GSE)

The concept for the GSE certification was born several years ago when the GIAC organization was very young. While GIAC certifications are individually designed to be challenging and accurate measures of a candidates ability to apply knowledge and relate knowledge, the GSE was envisioned to be the zenith of Information Security certifications.

Before a person can attempt the GSE, they must successfully complete five intermediate level GIAC certifications and they must earn honors in at least one of these subject areas. This in itself is a monumental task that demonstrates real dedication. One of our two new GSEs actually achieved honors in all five intermediate certifications!

The GSE exam itself is considered to be absolutely the toughest exam in the Information Security arena. The exam consists of seven four hour sections for a total of twenty eight testing hours. The twenty eight testing hours consist of approximately ten hours of written exams and eighteen hours of hands on exams. The hands on portions include analysis of several gigabytes of network traffic for possible signs of intrusions or attacks, analysis of an unknown binary for malicious code, reconstruction of portions of a corporate network, rearchitecture of a corporate perimeter and deployment of a firewall, vulnerability assessment of an infrastructure and much more. The written portions consist of approximately twenty percent multiple choice questions and eighty percent essay questions requiring the candidate to fully explain his answers. Of course, a significant challenge in this exam is time management. One of our two candidates commented that any single section of the GSE exam was more difficult than his physics doctorate.

For more information visit the GIAC website.

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