How to Pass Any SANS / GIAC Certification on Your First Try

Summary

In this informative video, TCM discusses strategies for passing the GIAC certification, a crucial step for becoming a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) in the PCI industry. TCM shares personal experiences and study tips, including the decision to pursue the more expensive but practical SANS certification. He details a methodical note-taking approach using color-coded tabs and an Excel spreadsheet to organize information for quick reference during the open-book exam. The video also offers insights into the value of the certification materials for ongoing professional development and provides a candid perspective on the certification's cost and industry relevance.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker is discussing strategies for passing the GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) on the first attempt, which is a certification for cybersecurity professionals.
• 💼 The speaker took the GIAC certification as part of the criteria to become a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) for PCI (Payment Card Industry), which regulates credit card payments globally.
• 📈 The speaker chose the GIAC certification over other options like CISA because GIAC was more technical, hands-on, and open-book, despite being significantly more expensive.
• 🔍 The speaker used a course called GSNA Audit 507, which included a variety of security tools and scripting languages, and found it to be up-to-date and well-taught, but not worth the cost.
• 📝 The speaker recommends creating an extensive index of topics from the study materials, using color-coordinated post-it notes and an Excel spreadsheet for organization.
• 🖨️ The index created in Excel is then printed out and attached to the corresponding books to serve as a quick reference guide during the open-book exam.
• 📉 The speaker suggests that the time constraint of the exam makes it crucial to have a well-organized note system to efficiently find information.
• 📝 The speaker also mentions using practice exams to familiarize oneself with the exam format and to further refine the note-taking process.
• 📑 The speaker used additional cheat sheets provided with the course, although they ended up not needing them during the exam.
• 🕒 The speaker emphasizes the importance of time management during the exam, given the large number of questions and the limited time available.
• 👍 The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to like, comment, and subscribe for more content, and shares a personal anecdote about taking the GIAC certification.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is discussing strategies and tips on how to pass the GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) certification, specifically the GSNA (GIAC Systems and Network Auditor) certification, on the first attempt.

Why did the speaker decide to pursue the GIAC certification?

The speaker pursued the GIAC certification to meet the criteria for becoming a QSA (Qualified Security Assessor) for PCI (Payment Card Industry), which requires two certifications, one from column A and one from column B.

What does the acronym 'PCI' stand for and what is its relevance to the speaker's certification pursuit?

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. It is relevant because the speaker needs to become a QSA for PCI to perform security audits related to credit card payments, which requires specific certifications.

What was the speaker's opinion on the cost of the GIAC certification?

The speaker mentioned that the GIAC certification was significantly more expensive than other options, such as the CISA, but chose it because it was open book/open note and seemed more technical and hands-on.

What course did the speaker take to prepare for the GIAC certification?

The speaker took the GSNA Audit 507 course as part of their preparation for the GIAC certification.

What resources did the speaker use to study for the GIAC certification exam?

The speaker used books provided with the course, an Excel spreadsheet for indexing topics, color-coordinated post-it notes, practice exams, and cheat sheets to study for the exam.

How did the speaker organize their study materials for the exam?

The speaker organized their study materials by creating an index in an Excel spreadsheet, color-coding topics with post-it notes, and stapling the index to the corresponding books for easy reference during the exam.

What advice did the speaker give regarding the use of the provided books and notes during the exam?

The speaker advised to use the books and notes as reference guides during the exam, as the open book/open note format allows for it. They emphasized the importance of indexing and organizing notes to save time during the exam.

What was the speaker's experience with the practice exams provided with the course?

The speaker found the practice exams to be very similar to the actual exam, which helped them understand what to expect and how to use their notes effectively during the test.

What is the QSA program and how does the speaker feel about it?

The QSA (Qualified Security Assessor) program is a requirement for performing security audits for PCI. The speaker feels that the program is somewhat like a pyramid scheme, but acknowledges that it is necessary for their career goals.

Outlines

00:00

📚 GIAC Certification Study Tips

The speaker, TCM, introduces the video's topic: sharing study tips and advice for passing the GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) certification on the first attempt. TCM emphasizes the high cost of retaking the exam and outlines the video's agenda, which includes discussing the reasons for pursuing the certification, sharing resources and study references, and providing strategies for success. TCM also mentions a personal anecdote about needing the certification for a role as a QSA (Qualified Security Assessor) in the PCI (Payment Card Industry) and the criteria involved, which includes obtaining two certifications. The video promises to cover TCM's experience with the GSNA Audit 507 course, its value, and the study methodology used for the open-book, open-notes exam.

05:01

🔍 Organizing Study Materials for GIAC Exam

In this paragraph, TCM discusses the process of organizing study materials for the GIAC certification exam. TCM was inspired by an article written by Leslie Carhart and adapted her method to create an effective note-taking system. The process involves using post-it notes, an Excel spreadsheet for indexing topics by color and page number, and creating a reference guide for the exam. TCM explains the importance of this system for quickly finding information during the exam due to the time constraints and the exam's format. The speaker also shares personal tweaks to the method and the value of keeping the study materials for future reference.

10:03

📝 Exam Preparation and GIAC Certification Experience

The final paragraph details TCM's experience with the GIAC certification exam preparation and the exam itself. TCM talks about the practicality of using colored post-it notes for indexing and an Excel spreadsheet for organizing notes. The speaker also mentions the use of practice exams, which were found to be very similar to the actual exam, and the value of cheat sheets provided by the course. TCM shares a humorous anecdote about being the only person paying out of pocket for the certification at the testing center and reflects on the worthiness of the certification and the course materials. The video concludes with a recap of the study tips and an encouragement for viewers to like, comment, and subscribe for more content.

Keywords

💡GIAC Certification

GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) is a series of certifications that aim to validate the skills and knowledge of cybersecurity professionals. In the video, the speaker discusses their experience with obtaining a GIAC certification, emphasizing the importance of passing it on the first attempt due to its high cost. The video's theme revolves around providing study tips and advice for successfully passing the GIAC certification exam.

💡Open Book/Open Note Exam

An open book/open note exam is a type of assessment that allows test-takers to bring resources such as books, notes, and cheat sheets into the exam room. The speaker mentions that the GIAC certification exam they took was open book/open note, which they appreciated for its practicality and hands-on approach. This format is significant in the video as it influences the study strategy and preparation for the exam.

💡QSA (Qualified Security Assessor)

QSA stands for Qualified Security Assessor, a designation given to individuals who are authorized to perform security audits for the Payment Card Industry (PCI). The speaker discusses their pursuit of becoming a QSA, which requires obtaining certain certifications, including the GIAC certification discussed in the video. This term is key to understanding the speaker's motivation for seeking the GIAC certification.

💡CISSP

CISSP, or Certified Information Systems Security Professional, is a globally recognized certification for information security professionals. The speaker mentions having previously discussed CISSP in another video and having obtained this certification as part of the criteria to become a QSA. CISSP is relevant to the video as it represents another certification in the cybersecurity field.

💡Study Tips

The speaker provides study tips that they used and advice from others to pass the GIAC certification exam. These tips include creating an organized system of notes and references to use during the open book/open note exam. The study tips are central to the video's content as they offer practical advice for viewers preparing for similar certification exams.

💡TCM Security

TCM Security appears to be the company or team that the speaker is a part of. The speaker mentions consulting with a team member named Evan from TCM Security, who is referred to as a 'resident SANS expert'. This term is used to establish the credibility of the advice given and to provide context for the speaker's professional background.

💡SANS Institute

The SANS Institute is a well-known organization that offers a range of cybersecurity training and certifications, including GIAC. The speaker discusses taking a SANS course (GSNA Audit 507) as part of their preparation for the GIAC certification. The SANS Institute is significant in the video as it provides the educational material and context for the certification exam.

💡Leslie Carhart

Leslie Carhart, known as 'HacksforPancakes', is mentioned in the video as the author of an article on how to take notes for certification exams. The speaker credits Leslie's article as a source of inspiration for their note-taking strategy. This reference is important as it shows the speaker's approach to gathering information and advice from various sources.

💡Note-Taking Strategy

The note-taking strategy discussed in the video involves using colored post-it notes, an Excel spreadsheet for indexing, and a system for organizing and referencing information during the exam. The speaker details their personalized strategy, which is a key component of the video's advice on how to prepare for and pass the GIAC certification exam.

💡Work Study Program

The speaker briefly mentions a work study program as a potential way to offset the cost of the certification exam. This program is presented as an alternative to paying out of pocket for the certification, which the speaker did. The work study program is relevant as it provides additional context on the financial aspect of obtaining professional certifications.

Highlights

The video aims to provide tips and advice on passing the GIAC certification on the first attempt.

The presenter shares personal experience and study tips used to pass the GIAC certification.

The cost of GIAC certification exams is highlighted as a reason to pass on the first try.

The presenter discusses the back story of why they pursued the QSA certification from PCI.

Two required certifications for QSA are mentioned: one from column A and one from column B.

The presenter chose the GIAC certification over CISA due to its practicality and hands-on approach.

The GSNA Audit 507 course is recommended for its up-to-date and well-taught material.

The course includes lab work with tools like Nmap and Burp Suite, as well as PowerShell and bash scripting.

The presenter found the GIAC certification course expensive but valuable for its technical content.

Evan, a colleague at TCM Security, is introduced as a resident SANS expert with multiple certifications.

Leslie Carhart's method for taking notes during certification exams is recommended.

The presenter details a system of indexing and color-coding notes for the exam.

An Excel sheet is used to organize notes by book, section, page number, and color.

The importance of note organization for quick reference during the timed exam is emphasized.

Practice exams are suggested as a way to familiarize oneself with the exam format and content.

Cheat sheets provided with the course are mentioned as a potential aid during the exam.

The presenter warns about the high cost of the certification and suggests looking into work-study programs.

The presenter concludes with a recap of the note-taking strategy and encourages viewers to adapt it to their needs.

The video ends with a call to like, comment, and subscribe for more content.

Transcripts

what's up everybody tcm here back with

another video and today we're going to

be talking about how to pass your gi ac

certification aka kind of a sand

certification on your first attempt now

i'm going to talk through the study tips

that i used and some of the advice that

i got from others and how i use that to

pass my exam and trust me you want to

pass these things on your first attempt

because they are very expensive

so in this video we're going to cover

the back story a little bit of why i

took a sand certification and paid out

of pocket for it and then we're going to

go into the resources that i used and

some of these study references and

things that you can do to pass on your

first try so i will leave time stamps in

the description if you want to skip the

back story feel free

other than that as always if you like

the video please do hit the like button

subscribe comment down below

uh love each and every one of you but

with that being said we're going to kind

of jump right into it so

if you saw my last video um on the cissp

or the video on the cisp and the video

on passing that in a week i kind of

talked about

going for what is called the qsa from

pci

so pci is the payment card industry and

they kind of regulate uh all the credit

card payments that happen around the

world and in order to do security audits

for that you have to be what's called a

qsa

in order to apply as a company you have

to meet criteria in order to be a qsa as

a person you also have to meet that

criteria uh so the criteria is two

certifications um one from like a column

a and a column b and i'll put them up on

the screen here but basically one of the

certifications that i went for was the

cissp and the second one was an auditing

certification that you had to go for so

i think i had the option of like the

cisa

i forget what the other one was and then

the sand certification

now the cheapest certification would

have been going for like the cisa

um

unfortunately it really wasn't a

practical certification and i've heard

that it's a pretty tough certification

to get through if you don't have any

audit background or anything like that

um i looked into the sand certification

and while it was like

i don't know eight times more expensive

or the giac certification say um even

though it was like eight times more

expensive it was open book open note

which i appreciated and it seemed like

it was something that was more technical

and hands-on which i also appreciated so

i would never

pay out of pocket for

a sans course unless i absolutely had to

do it and in this case i had to do it

i thought overall the course that i took

which was the gsna was uh audit 507 and

i thought the course overall was really

good actually

materials were presented pretty well it

was mostly reading off of powerpoint

slides um with some information added to

it and then there were labs and i did

appreciate the labs because they kind of

allowed you to go through and actually

audit some things and a lot of it was

some stuff i was familiar with like nmap

and burp suite and tools like that but

there was also some new tricks to those

tools that i learned and then there was

a lot of other audit tools that i was

unfamiliar with there was a lot of

powershell scripting to do auditing

which was cool they covered bash

scripting which i thought was cool and

what was really new to me was like

auditing dockers and kubernetes which is

really cool um so i would say the course

was up to date really well taught but i

i don't think overall the course was

worth the price tag um unfortunately i

feel like the qsa program is kind of

pyramid schemey uh hopefully they don't

kick me out of the program for saying

that but it is what it is but that's

kind of why i ended up going for the the

sans uh course and then the giac

certification so with that being said um

the certification

when you do the course it comes with all

the materials um at least if you do the

course option so you get all these books

here i've got like i got six books

there's one for each day so if they

teach this in person you you do it per

day and then you get a workbook for all

the different things that you go through

um when they say that you can bring an

arm full of notes for your open book

open notes to your exam they are i mean

they're literally not kidding like this

is

it's like you're back in high school or

college again um this is an arm full of

notes you know i have never taken a gic

certification before so

um i went to a gentleman named evan who

is a team member at tcm security and he

is what i call our resident sans expert

because he's been through so many sans

courses and has a lot of gisc

certifications

and i asked him you know

what do you do how do you study for this

thing because there's so much

information like how how does one do

open books open notes uh and he he sent

me a link he said here's what i use for

my certifications and my certification

exam attempts and this has been

successful for me and i kind of followed

that and it worked so i'm going to kind

of share that with you

so that it's kind of known maybe more on

a broad scale so

moving over to the computer briefly he

sent me this article from leslie carhart

who goes by hacks for pancakes um

she wrote an article looks like in 2015

which is a long time ago on uh how to

take notes and i'm gonna list this down

in the description below i think it's

pretty good uh it kind of goes into the

way that she does it and i i made some

alterations but i still think it's worth

reading

essentially you get some of these

post-it tabs which i'll show you

and then you kind of go into an excel

sheet and you just go through your book

and as you go through your book you

write down these things in the excel

sheet and you kind of just color

coordinate it to your tabs eventually

you sort it and then you print it out so

i

got my inspiration from this article

thank you evan for sending it to me

thank you leslie for writing this

because this was actually fantastic i'm

just going to kind of tell you the

little bit of tweaks that i made as i

went through this so first things first

you do need post-it notes so i went out

and got these little post-it notes um i

got a bunch of these like this is

completely unopened but i didn't know

how many i was going to need so i think

i spent maybe 10 to 20 on post-it notes

overkill but you never know if you need

anymore it's better than having to run

back to the store

um from there what i did was i went and

i started going through the book and as

i went through the book i started

indexing topics that i thought were

important or i felt like could be

relevant for the exam so let's take a

look at that on excel

so here's kind of what it looks like i

went chapter by chapter so the indexing

system here is book one

and then this was section two and then

the page number that it correlated to um

and then i kind of just did these in

order and then i did them by color

um eventually i went down and then you

can see color changes for uh

book one chapter three book one chapter

four chapter five and then there's also

these exercises down here that i color

coordinated two specifics of uh what

chapter they they showed up in um so

with that you take these and you kind of

just write it out to a way that makes

sense for you um so maybe like hey this

is what the definition of auditing is or

here's the different policies or here's

where baselines are it becomes really

important honestly because when you're

taking the exam there's so many little

nuances throughout the exam at least in

my experience that it's not just a broad

definition like i i don't want to give

too much away but for example they might

ask you uh they might show you a log

file uh and say hey where would you see

this log file at you might have to go

dig that up or they might say something

like hey in windows event manager

if you're doing logging you know what

settings should be set ideally for this

specifically

and you go through and you have to kind

of figure out what those are now if you

try to memorize all those from the books

you're gonna have a hard time but these

books are meant to more be

a reference guide and for me these are

great because now when i go and i do

auditing i have a uh more methodology i

have more to add to the checklist

and i know what to build out so i think

this is fantastic you have a reference

guy that you can always point back to if

you say hey i forget what settings i

need to do you can just always go back

and point back to those so there is

value to these books and i definitely

intend on keeping them and using them

later on so with that being said you

then want to take these and sort these

alphabetically essentially

alphabetically kind of screwed with me a

little bit honestly like

as you learn your books and you learn

your chapters within your books i almost

would go back and just leave it kind of

like this like every day was a little

bit different so we might have a day on

auditing a day on windows a day on linux

and then i would know okay within linux

i knew what chapter sub chapter that was

in so leaving like this honestly wasn't

the worst idea but switching it over and

organizing it alphabetically wasn't

terrible either

so you have this and then you can just

print this out so i made it to where i

can print out every single day's notes

if that makes sense um and then i put

them on my books so i'll give you a

couple of examples um so like book one i

just stapled the index to book one if

this will ever there you go so i just

stapled the index and i wrote some notes

down here on some of the stuff

um book two

like for windows it got a little bit a

little bit longer so i had to go

landscape

but it's still a uh it's still a nice

guide and then

the nice thing too is you know you're

not going to catch everything um so

something for example is in the last

book

actually they give you an index for

everything so

um in this book at the very end

you have like the index of indexes

indices i don't i don't know what you

call them i don't know what the plural

index is but this is kind of what it

looks like right

so you do that and um if you can't find

it in your index then you you just look

in this

master index and there's a good chance

it's there

there was points in the exam where

nothing was showing up in any of my

notes or the index or anything i could

find in the book and that's fine um you

know that's kind of expected as well

and it's you know it is what it is but

at the end of the day here's the other

thing that you're doing so i took the

first uh line so 1.2.13

that page 13 is where i put my first

blue tab so if we're on book one you can

see that i kind of wrote it out

1.2.13 over here on the side that

correlates to page 13 in the book i know

everything within that

that blue tab is the first chapter or

second chapter of that book

um next chapter would be the green one

and that kind of gets you to where a

general area of you want to be um so if

i see green i just open the green tab

for example and then i know okay i gotta

find that page number with my area

at least you're not hunting things down

and having to find them on the fly

because you only have three hours for an

exam and for my test that was 115

questions so you got like a minute and a

half ish

for each question which isn't very long

if you're like flipping through your

book trying to find answers uh so that's

kind of really it um i you know i

recommend printing this out they give

you practice exams um if you purchase

that i think that the practice exams

were identical to what the exam was i

think they do a really good job of

saying hey this is what the exam is

going to feel like and then i was able

to take notes on that practice exam

that's what you see handwriting on on

some of the indexes

and then i was able to use those in my

uh my exam as well they do give you some

cheat sheets like for example they gave

me this like regex cheat sheet which is

kind of cool um and then different

little cheat sheets i just stapled those

all together in case i needed them but i

didn't use any of the cheat sheets that

they had

but your mileage may vary on that so

long-winded there but the recap of this

is you want to get some of these colored

post-it notes right get some of these

you're going to want to index in an

excel or similar spreadsheet tool um by

color and just write out the page number

the chapter and how it correlates to you

make this your own like i saw leslie's

guide and i said hey this isn't what's

going gonna work best for me but it's

pretty close i mean what i'm showing you

my methodology based off of that might

not be what works for you either so um

make your notes your own so that you can

understand them and as you're going

through these just make sure you're

you're indexing everything and that you

can go back and you can color coordinate

and

be able to reference easily when you're

taking your exam because time is

everything on these exams so that's my

little tips and tricks hopefully this

was informative for you

hopefully you never have to pay for a

sand certification out of pocket a

little side note when i was going to

take my exam i had all my books and

she's like you must be here for the giac

because the only ones that allow open

notes at our testing center by she i

mean the proctor by the way um and we

were sitting down she's like so what

agency are you with and she meant like

fbi cia because those are the companies

that pay out of pocket for these things

government pays big money for these

certifications and i was like i am the

one idiot that pays full price out of

pocket for this because i had to uh they

do have work study programs um i think

if you can get you know i think fifteen

hundred dollars for this if you could do

the work study program um and you pay

fifteen hundred dollars for

certification i think that could be

worth it depending on the certification

uh this gsna certification if you go

google it there's literally nothing on

it on reddit which i've never seen this

before i think there's like tech exams

or something uh one of those websites

like that that uh talks about it from

like eight to ten years ago but the

materials from 2021 um very recently

updated i thought it was pretty good so

um they're still keeping it up to date

even if nobody's talking about it and

obviously it's still a requirement for

the qsa so they're doing something right

there for real this time that is it uh

if you like this video again please do

hit the like button comment subscribe

all that fun jazz will be back very soon

with another video

until then

peace out