Mile2 Certification: A Comprehensive Guide
Mile2 is an information technology powerhouse that focuses on providing learning and certification opportunities in the cybersecurity niche.
The company which was founded in 2008 offers certification programs covering; forensics, data recovery, cloud security, hacking policies etc. These certification programs are being utilised by Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies such as; Boeing, the National Security Agency (NSA), The Federal Bureau of Intelligence, and Canada’s Department of National Defence, among others.
Mile2 has been accredited by the Committee on National Systems Security (CNSS) which makes it an excellent certification body.
An Introduction to Mile2
Mile2 programs are vendor-neutral professional certificates developed for the cybersecurity community. The program offers different levels of certification for professionals interested in climbing its career ladder. And professionals in the field of Systems Engineering, security analysis, cloud security, IT infrastructure management, security architecture etc. have a lot to gain by participating in these certification programs.
If you fall into any of these professional categories, you have the choice of pursuing a fundamental Mile2 certificate and concluding with an advanced certification.
Is Mile2 Something You Should Be Interested In?
If you are looking to pursue a successful career in cybersecurity across both the private and public sector, the answer is a resounding yes. This is due to the fact that Mile2 certificates are highly rated by the cybersecurity community, and many organizations encourage prospective employees to go through its certification programs.
Therefore, in this guide we will explore the different certification programs it offers to help you choose the one suitable to your career goals.
The Benefits of a Mile2 Certificate
The benefits of acquiring a Mile2 certificate are many for both individual IT professionals and organizations. These benefits include:
The Advantages it gives IT Professionals
- Validates your Knowledge and Skill Sets—certifications are a great way to convince prospective employers about your ability to provide solutions to particular problems. In cybersecurity niches, a Mile2 certificate highlights your ability to provision and solve the security problems an organization’s IT systems encounter.
- Gives you a Competitive Edge—the recruitment Ads publicly sent out by the FBI, NSA and other Fortune 500 companies always receive thousands of replies from IT professionals vying for limited spots. A Mile2 certificate is definitely an added advantage as prospective employers look favourably on individuals with one.
The Benefits to Corporate Organizations
- Ensures Security Policies are followed—the first step to mitigating risk in IT infrastructures/systems starts with putting the right security protocols in place. Certified professionals ensure that an organization’s security frameworks are updated.
- Increases Employee Performance—having a knowledge of the right security measures to take, and the skill sets needed to deploy these measures accurately, eliminates time and resource wastage. This increases the performance of every employee working with an IT infrastructure.
Mile2 Certification Program Overview
The certification program Mile2 offers you is categorised under 4 distinct levels which are; fundamental, foundational, specialized and advanced certificates.
These certification levels determine how far you can go in the 13 career areas—Forensics, Data Recovery, Security, Healthcare etc.—that Mile2 has to offer. Here’s a brief definition of the program levels to help you pinpoint the level you fall into.
- Mile2 Fundamental—these are basically beginner certifications that introduce you to a career area.
- Mile2 Foundational—introduces you to the rules, regulations and best practices of your career’s industry.
- Mile2 Specialized—this covers proven methodologies and controls needed to execute and analyse IT security systems.
- Mile2 Advanced—this was designed for upper management staff and covers security analysis from a business’s perspective.
Mile2 Certification Programs and the corresponding Certificate Levels
The programs you can participate in to earn your Mile2 certificate are all arranged under the four levels discussed earlier.
Mile2 Career Areas
There are a lot of programs you can choose from to kick-start your journey into Mile2’s certification world.
IS Management Leadership—this certification program was developed for professionals interested in pursuing a career in managing the security systems of a business organization. You can choose to climb the certification ladder by pursuing either a specialized or advanced certificate in IS management leadership.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this certification program focuses on educating students on system security, access control and network security. As a participant, you will be tested on the fundamental concepts of; computer security, data recovery and identifying threats etc.
Certified Security Awareness Principle (CSAP)—this program is built towards testing your abilities to identify the weakest link in an IT infrastructure’s security. You will be tested on cybersecurity, fraud identification etc.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer—this is a foundational certificate that provides IT security officers with a way to certify their understanding of IT security policies.
IS20 Security Controls (CISSO)—this certification program focuses on your ability to analyze security threats and execute adequate solutions. It is a specialized certification based on the top 20 most critical security controls.
Certified Security Leadership Officer (CSLO)—this program is an advanced certification designed to teach management staff about security issues and best practices.
Pen Testing Hacking—the field of pen testing hacking focuses on testing the security vulnerabilities of IT infrastructure and building solutions for them. You can acquire a fundamental or advanced certificate in this field.
Certified Vulnerability Assessor (CVA)—this is a pen hacking certification program that covers the importance of assessing system vulnerabilities. Candidates will be tested on assessing networks and IT systems.
Certified Professional Ethical Hacker (CPEH)—here, you will be tasked with learning the best ways to discover threats as well as develop counter measures to handle them.
Certified Penetration Testing Engineer (CPTE)—this is a specialized certification program based on the 5 key elements of pen testing information gathering, scanning, enumeration, exploiting and reporting.
Certified Penetration Testing Consultant (CPTC)—this is the most advanced program under the pen test hacking niche. Interested Candidates must have a CPTE certificate to participate.
Incident Handling—handling incidents related to IT security in the real-world is a skill that is validated when you participate in this Mile2 certification program.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this is an introductory program focused on introducing the different concepts related to detecting security threats in real-time.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—this covers monitoring and compliance policies and their importance to a business’s IT architecture.
Certified Incident Handling Engineer (CIHE)—the CIHE is a specialized certification program built for engineers looking to develop strategies for solving cyber threat issues.
Forensics—a career in IT forensics focuses on your ability to conduct forensic examinations, and apply adequate investigative techniques when auditing an IT infrastructure. The certificates under it include:
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—CSP is a certification program that covers the fundamentals of systems security, access control, network infrastructure and the basics of IT forensics.
Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (CDFE)—participants in the CDFE program will cover and be examined on electronic discovery, advanced investigation techniques and their application.
Certified Virtualization Forensics Examiner (CVFE)—this is an advanced certification developed for IT security professionals who deal with responding to incidents that occur in IT systems.
Certified Network Forensics Examiner (CNFE)—CNFE is an advanced certification program designed for systems engineer and top management who cover cybersecurity investigations.
Disaster Recovery—Mile2 also provides professionals with the opportunity to validate their abilities to manage risk and handle the data recovery process that comes after.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this is a fundamental certificate that touches on today’s security environment, systems security and the features that make them work.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—the CISSO program was designed as a fundamental course for anyone looking to pursue a career in cybersecurity.
Certified Disaster Recovery Engineer (CDRE)—a certified CDRE professional is tasked with being the first responder to security threats in business organizations.
Wireless Security—a wireless security expert is tasked with securing wireless networks and other wireless infrastructures from cyber threats from malware, phishing attacks etc.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this is a certification program designed as an introductory course to the field of wireless security.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—the CISSO is a vendor-neutral certificate based on risk management, security architecture and security management in relation to IT infrastructures.
Certified Wireless Security Engineer (CWSE)—participants in this program will be taught about understanding security risks and mitigating them in a wireless system. It is an advanced wireless course you can consider taking.
HealthCare—the use of technology in healthcare means that IT professionals with the capacity to manage IT systems and devices will be needed in management roles. Mile2 certifications help validate your abilities in healthcare IT.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this is a fundamental certification that focuses on teaching the basics of assessing threats, and the role of cryptography and detection systems in securing IT infrastructure.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—the CISSO certification program focuses on compliance issues, intrusion detection systems and their application in healthcare.
Certified Healthcare IS Security Practitioner (CHISSP)—this is an advanced certification that focuses on the implementation of relevant standards and compliance factors in healthcare.
Auditing—career professionals interested in validating their abilities to assess and audit security threats should view this program as one to participate in. You can also choose to climb the certification ladder by going for more advanced auditing certificates.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—CSP is a foundational program where auditing concepts are taught.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—this certification program deals with the fundamentals of auditing risk. You will be tasked with learning about assessing threats in IT systems and documenting them.
Certified Information Security Management Systems Lead Auditor (CISMS-LA)—this is a specialized program that teaches you to lead audits, plan and handle control evaluation.
Certified Information Security Management Lead Implementation (CISMS-LI)—the program is a specialized certification that focuses on managing the implementation of an ISMS system.
Certified Information System Security Auditor (CISSA)—this is an advanced certification program for individuals looking to go into management and Leadership positions.
Application & Secure Code—this focuses on managing data and applications to ensure security measures are in place to mitigate risks from attacking software applications and IT systems.
Certified Security Principles (CSP)—this is a foundational program that touches on the concepts around deploying applications and managing code in both a mobile and desktop ecosystem.
Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)—the CISSO program is a foundational course developed for systems engineers, IT programmers and other professionals looking to climb the Mile2 certification ladder.
Certified Secure Web Application Engineer (CSWAE)—this is a specialized certification program that focuses on web and mobile application mapping, application security etc.
Cloud Security—Mile2’s cloud-based certification covers software data centers, the process of installing and provisioning cloud-based solutions as well as securing these systems from outside threats.
Certified Virtualization and Cloud Principles (CVCP)—this focuses on your general understanding of internet and cloud based technological concepts.
Certified Virtualization Engineer (CVE)—this is a foundational program that covers the skills needed to design and manage datacentres for business owners.
Certified Cloud Security Officer (CCSO)—covers the risks and security threats IT systems face in today’s world.
Virtualization & Virtualization Security—the virtualization certification program focuses on web and mobile-based technologies and the role virtualization systems play in a business’s overall IT infrastructure.
Certified Virtualization and Cloud Principles (CVCP)—this is a fundamental course that touches on virtualization concepts and how well you understand them.
Certified Virtualization Engineer (CVE)—this touches on the emerging technologies in cloud infrastructures and how security measures can be integrated into them.
Certified Virtual Desktop Engineer (CVDE)—this is a specialized course that focuses on VMware Horizon View 7 suites. You can learn all about VMWare Virtualization solutions in our guide on VMWare certifications.
IS Management Electives—this is a management certification program that covers information on IS controls, infrastructure assessment and audits. It is a program designed for IT professionals interested in pursuing management roles in the private and public sectors.
Certified Information Systems Security Manager (CISSM)—this is a foundational course on providing effective IS management solutions to organization’s that need them. The program also covers ISACA’s CISM exams.
Certified Information Systems Risk Manager (CISRM)—this is a management based program for IT professionals interested in validating their abilities to manage risk.
Information Security Certification and Accreditation Professional (ISCAP)—this is a program designed to quantify the process of becoming a certified IT security professional.
Certified IPV6 Security Specialist (CISS)—this covers the IPV6 environment and the concepts behind it, as well as security threats to its environment.
Virtualization & Cloud Electives (CPCE)—the CPCE certification program focuses on the VMware vSphere environment and the usage of PowerCLI.
Certified PowerCLI Engineer (CPCE)—this focuses on PowerCLI and your ability to deploy automated processes in vSphere ecosystem.
Training and Practical Materials
There are third party training providers that come equipped with the necessary tools and materials needed to prepare you for the Mile2 certification exams.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways a Mile2 certification can help you in advancing your career as an IT professional in the area of IT security. Certified security analysts generally earn $7,000 to $15,000 more than their uncertified colleagues.