CND — Certified Network Defender
EC-Council's network defense certification covering network security administration, IDS/IPS, firewalls, VPNs, and incident response from a network perspective. DoD 8140 approved which is its primary value in the market. EC-Council's reputation makes GCIA a stronger practitioner credential for network security analysis, but CND satisfies the same DoD compliance requirements at a lower price point. More administrative and policy-focused than technically deep — better suited for network security administrators and compliance-driven environments than hands-on SOC analysts. A reasonable DoD checkbox cert if GCIA cost is prohibitive.
| Issuer | EC-Council |
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| Level | intermediate |
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| Domains | Defensive Security / SOC |
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| Practical weight | 25% |
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| Cost (USD) | 450 |
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| Renewal | 3 years |
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| DoD 8140 | Yes |
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| Skills | network_defense, firewall_management, ids_ips_management, vpn_security, network_monitoring, incident_response_network, network_security_policies |
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Official certification page
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