I have been a functional tester for quite some time and I always had an affinity for the more technical parts of it. As such I have quite some (high-level) knowledge about various OS's, DB's and applications. This year I was offered the chance to specialize in security testing; a change I grasped with both hands. Since you can't do everything at the same time and experts on networking security exist longer then I live I decided to focus on (web) application securty at first. This area is still in development and my skills so far are best applicable in that area. I figured I can always grow into the field of networking security, but needed to scope things first in order not to drown in information.
The scope:
My initial scope will be attacks that can be initiated from an application. So all sorts of XSS, CSRF, SQL/command/code injections, authentification attacks, etc, etc, etc. Things like wireless hacking, direct (web)server or database attacks (e.g. via telnet) or direct networking attacks (like CISCO routers etc) will not be my main focus. I understand that you cannot seperate things as easily as I state here, but I hope you grasp my idea
The challenge:
Part of the training and getting nice assignments is certification. Due to limitations in time and location I started with the CEH program. Although it was fun and interesting, it focused too much on the networking parts for my liking. After receiving the CEH certificate I started to look around for the next training, but to my surprise I could not find any real 'application security' training. Most courses I stumbled on upon still only have a few modules on application security and many more on e.g. windows password hacking.
The question:
Do you guys know any course that better fits my needs? At the moment I am settling for SSCP (or maybe CISSP) combined with an ECSA/LPT/GPEN/GCIH certificate, but I would like to get your feedback, ideas, and experience on this.
