HOW I ‘HACKED’ MY CEHv11 EXAM IN FOUR STEPS
PASSING THE CEH EXAM IN THE FIRST ATTEMPT
In our current times, people with the ability to practically apply the knowledge they have stand a greater chance of employability than those in the same field with vast knowledge and no experience.Most employers have moved away from knowledge based hiring to skill based. Fundamentally, the skills you have are more likely to land you a job more especially in the tech field. Having this in mind, it is therefore paramount that you equip yourself with the relevant skills in your career field.
For practitioners in the cyber security field, there are a number of certifications that can enable you achieve the skills you need. One of the beginner certification courses is known as Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) offered by Ec-Council. I recently finished my certification for CEHv11 and would like to share tips and knowledge on how one can hack this. I shall outline four steps I used to guarantee my passing of the certification exam in the first trial.
This guideline is suitable both for newbies in cybersecurity and those who have been in the field and would like to pursue the certification. Also, it more suitable for someone undertaking a self paced certification process. The platform I used during my course study is the official CEHv11 course content provided by Ec-Council.
NB: My recommendation is that CEH is not ideally a beginner course in the cybersecurity certification process. I would suggest one to first familiarize themselves with fundamentals of cybersecurity such as networking, programming and basic principles of cybersecurity. This is important as these topics will not be covered in depth in the course content.
1. Step 1 — First Walk-through of the course content
This step is meant to give you a feeling of how the content has been structured. CEHv11 consists of twenty modules. Aside from Module 1, each one of these has a course content and lab material. Trying to understand what is going on in each of these modules can be a quite a challenge even for an experienced person. I used movie/series approach where I watched all the module videos as a long documentary or a series with several episodes. At the end, you get a feeling of how much you need to cover and can guide you in formulating a study timetable. Recommended to consume two modules a day. For those working, you can allocate either an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening or whichever works best for you.
Objective
◇ To acquaint yourself with the content that you are going to cover
◇ To help you formulate a study timetable
2. Step 2 — Second Walk-through of the course content
After having a feel of the course content and formulating a study timetable, you’ll begin an in depth study of the material. Go back to the modules and begin making summary of key points you gather from them. Spend time in understanding the concepts that are being laid out. At this stage, I’d recommend doing a module a day. This will provide sufficient reading time and will help you avoid rushing through the content. This stage is paramount in determining how much time you will spend in preparing for the exam. A good mastery of the content will reduce your preparation time.
Objective
◇ Take down notes on key points.
◇ Have an in depth understanding of the content.
3. Step 3 — Preparing for the exam
At this stage, you will be familiar with 60% or more of the course content. The next step is ensuring you are well prepared to handle the exam. The exam questions are scenario based. This implies that you won’t be required to define or explain terminologies but your answers shall be based on what the scenario is describing. In preparation, you will have to go through numerous question banks. They will help you familiarize yourself with the exam format and mentally prepare you on what to expect. Equally, they will help you know what areas you need to revise better on and what topics need to be attended to before sitting for the final exam.
There are numerous learning materials readily available on the internet that can help you in the preparation process. Below are some links to resources I used while preparing for my exam.
• https://www.itexams.com/exam/312-50v11
• https://www.examtopics.com/exams/eccouncil/312-50v11/view/
• https://passemall.com/learn/free-ceh-v11-practice-test/practice-test/part-1
Objectives
◇ Revise your notes and your labs.
◇ Practice on question banks.
◇ Familiarize yourself with exam format.
◇ Check on what areas you need to revisit again.
4. Step 4 — Booking and doing the exam
The final step is doing the certification exam. CEHv11 has been allocated 4 hours for you to complete the 125 multiple choice questions. With proper preparation, you can complete the exam within half of the time allocated. When you are well prepared for the exam, you will schedule a date on which to do the exam. The exam is either remote proctored or done at a testing center. If you are going through a self paced learning method, you will probably use the remote proctored option. Ec-Council has a well documented procedure on how you will schedule the exam and the requirements needed. I recommend doing a booking two weeks in advance. This will give you enough time to reflect and decide on if you really are ready to do the exam. Just to note, you are allowed to reschedule your exam 24hrs before the due date. Book a time and date when your mind is the most active so that your body will not tire during the exam.
Objectives
◇ To select your ideal time and date of booking the exam.
◇ Set up an ideal environment for the exam
◇ What not to do during the exam.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Have a study guideline on how you will cover the modules.
• Consistently allocate time on daily basis if possible to go through the material.
• Go through your summary notes as you prepare for the exam.
• Exam questions will be scenario based; don’t memorize, understand.
• Practice, practice, practice on the question banks.
• Not every tool/topic will be in the exam.
• Document all the information you obtain.
CONCLUSION
When undertaking any certification exam, especially the self paced online ones, your most important resource in learning the new skill is time. Ironically, it is not the amount of time you spend mastering the skill that will make you competent. The consistency in studying for it will prove important in ensuring you acquire the skills in the shortest time possible.
