Firewall Analyst Certification: GCFW

GIAC Certified Firewall Analyst (GCFW)

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Description

GIAC Certified Firewall Analysts (GCFWs) have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to design, configure, and monitor routers, firewalls, and perimeter defense systems.

Target

Individuals responsible for designing, implementing, configuring, and monitoring a secure perimeter for any organization; including routers, firewalls, VPNs/remote access, and overall network design.

Course

Preparing for the GCFW Exam: Candidates may choose to prepare for the GCFW exam by taking the SANS Training Course: SEC502: Perimeter Protection In-Depth

*No Specific training is required for any GIAC certification. If candidates need help in mastering the objectives for this certification, there are many sources of information available. Practical experience is one option; there are also numerous books on the market covering Computer Information Security. Another option is SANS training, or any relevant courses from other training providers.*

Requirements

1 proctored exam
75 questions
Time limit of 2 hours
Minimum Passing Score of 69.3%

Renew

Certifications must be renewed every 4 years. Click here for details.

Delivery

NOTE: GIAC exams are NOT given the day after the conference ends.

Exams are delivered online through a standard web browser. For exams purchased with SANS training, access to the exam will be available 7-10 days following the end of the conference. Certification attempt exams are issued within 24 hours upon receipt of payment. You will receive an email from GIAC when your exam has been issued to your portal account. You have 120 days to complete the exam from the time we send notice that it is available. The exams are proctored and should be scheduled using our proctored exam procedure.

Bulletin (Part 2 of Candidate Handbook)

Exam Certification Objectives & Outcome Statements

The topic areas for each exam part follow:

Analyzing Network and Wireless Design: The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with network design principles and decisions, and with basic wireless security issues.
Creating and Auditing a Rulebase: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of building and verifying firewall rulebases that serve the needs of the business and map to security policy.
Firewall Assessment and Penetration Testing: The candidate will demonstrate a thorough understanding of assessing and validating the security of a firewall.
Host-Based Detection and DLP: The candidate will demonstrate understanding of the capabilities of HIDS and HIPS, and be familiar with DLP techniques.
Incident Detection and Analysis: The candidate will demonstrate a basic understanding of detecting incidents, intrusions, and preserving evidence.
IOS and Router Security: The candidate will demonstrate understanding of the basics of Cisco IOS and router hardening through applying ACLs
IPv6 and ICMPv6: The candidate will understand the basics of IP and ICMP version 6.
Log Collection and Analysis: The candidate will demonstrate understanding of techniques for centralizing log collection and analyzing firewall logs.
NAT and Proxies: The candidate will demonstrate understanding of transparent, non-transparent, and reverse proxy functionality, and the four standard implementations of NAT.
Netfilter iptables: The candidate will understand the features and configuration of the free firewall, Netfilter.
Network Access Control: The candidate will be familiar with Network Access Control theory.
Network-Based Intrusion Detection: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of signature-based network intrusion detection.
Packet Filters and Inspection: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how static and stateful packet filters work.
Packet Fragmentation: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how fragmentation works and fragmentation-based attacks.
Perimeter Concepts and IP Fundamentals: The candidate will demonstrate a thorough understanding of the IP header, and basic perimeter concepts including services, firewalls, and layered security.
Securing Hosts and Services: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the principles, tools, and techniques for securing and hardening hosts and services.
TCP/IP Protocols: The candidate will demonstrate a thorough understanding of TCP, UDP and ICMP.
VPN Design and Auditing: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of VPN authentication, encryption and placement techniques.
VPN Implementation: The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of IPSEC, SSL and SSH as VPN technologies.

Where to Get Help

Training is available from a variety of resources including on line, course attendance at a live conference, and self study.

Practical experience is another way to ensure that you have mastered the skills necessary for certification. Many professionals have the experience to meet the certification objectives identified.

Finally, college level courses or study through another program may meet the needs for mastery.

The procedure to contest exam results can be found at http://www.giac.org/about/procedures/grievance.

Certification: GCFW