Security Certifications

Security Certifications#

Reference of cybersecurity, cloud, networking, audit, and training certifications. Useful for resume signaling, course content, and procurement gate (GS-13 / DOD 8570 / IAT II / III equivalents). Listings note vendor, level, and the typical audience.

General security#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
Security+	CompTIA	Entry	Vendor-neutral baseline; DoD 8570 IAT II.
CySA+	CompTIA	Intermediate	Cybersecurity Analyst.
PenTest+	CompTIA	Intermediate	Vendor-neutral pentest.
CASP+	CompTIA	Advanced	Advanced Security Practitioner.
CISSP	(ISC)²	Senior	The flagship management cert; 5 yrs exp; CBK.
SSCP	(ISC)²	Intermediate	Systems Security Cert Practitioner.
CISM	ISACA	Senior	Mgmt-focused; governance.
CISA	ISACA	Senior	Audit-focused.
CRISC	ISACA	Senior	Risk + IS controls.
CGEIT	ISACA	Senior	Governance.
CSX-P	ISACA	Intermediate	Practitioner perf-based.
CCSP	(ISC)²	Senior	Cloud security.

Offensive security / pentest#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
OSCP	OffSec	Intermediate	Practical 24-hr pentest; ground-truth signal for offensive roles.
OSEP	OffSec	Advanced	Advanced evasion / pivoting.
OSED	OffSec	Advanced	Exploit development.
OSWE	OffSec	Advanced	Advanced web attacks.
OSWP	OffSec	Intermediate	Wireless.
OSCE3	OffSec	Expert	OSEP + OSED + OSWE bundle.
PNPT	TCM Security	Intermediate	Practical Network Pen Tester.
PJPT	TCM Security	Entry	Junior pentester.
CRTP	Altered Security	Intermediate	AD red-team (former Pentester Academy).
CRTE	Altered Security	Advanced	AD enterprise red team.
CRTO	Zero-Point Security	Intermediate	Cobalt Strike + Red Team Ops.
CRTL	Zero-Point Security	Advanced	Red Team Lead.
CARTP	Altered Security	Intermediate	Azure red team.
CARTE	Altered Security	Advanced	Azure red team enterprise.
CARTS	Altered Security	Advanced	AWS red team.
CRTM	Altered Security	Advanced	Multi-cloud / hybrid.
GPEN	GIAC	Intermediate	SANS network pentest.
GWAPT	GIAC	Intermediate	SANS web pentest.
GXPN	GIAC	Advanced	SANS exploit dev / advanced pen test.
GMOB	GIAC	Intermediate	SANS mobile pentest.
GAWN	GIAC	Intermediate	SANS wireless.
GRTP	GIAC	Intermediate	Red team pro.
CEH (Practical)	EC-Council	Intermediate	Industry-known but quality varies.
CHFI	EC-Council	Intermediate	Forensic.
CPTC / CPTS	HTB Academy	Intermediate	Hack The Box practical pen test.
eJPT	INE / eLearn	Entry	Junior pentester.
eCPPT	INE / eLearn	Intermediate	Pentest.
eWPT / eWPTX	INE / eLearn	Intermediate	Web pentest.
eMAPT	INE / eLearn	Intermediate	Mobile.
eCRE	INE / eLearn	Advanced	Exploit dev.

Blue team / defense / IR#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
GCFA	GIAC	Intermediate	Forensic Analyst.
GCFE	GIAC	Intermediate	Forensic Examiner (Windows).
GCIH	GIAC	Intermediate	Incident Handler.
GREM	GIAC	Advanced	Reverse-Engineering Malware.
GMON	GIAC	Intermediate	Continuous Monitoring.
GCDA	GIAC	Intermediate	Detection Analyst.
GCIA	GIAC	Intermediate	Intrusion Analyst.
GCED	GIAC	Intermediate	Enterprise Defender.
GDAT	GIAC	Intermediate	Defending Advanced Threats.
GNFA	GIAC	Intermediate	Network Forensic Analyst.
GBFA	GIAC	Intermediate	Battlefield Forensics.
GASF	GIAC	Intermediate	Smartphone Forensic.
GCTI	GIAC	Intermediate	Cyber Threat Intel.
GOSI	GIAC	Intermediate	Open-Source Intelligence.
BTL1 / BTL2	Security Blue Team	Intermediate	Blue Team Level 1 / 2 (UK).
CCD	CyberDefenders.org	Intermediate	Cyber Defender / DFIR.
CDSA	SANS / GIAC	Intermediate	SOC analyst.
CCSA	IACIS	Intermediate	Computer Forensic Examiner.
CFCE	IACIS	Intermediate	Forensic Computer Examiner.
EnCE	OpenText	Intermediate	EnCase Certified Examiner.
ACE	AccessData	Intermediate	FTK Certified Examiner.

Cloud security#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
AWS Cert Cloud Pract.	AWS	Entry	Foundational.
AWS Cert Solutions Ar ch	AWS	Associate / Pro	Architect tracks.
AWS Cert Security	AWS	Specialty	Security specialty.
AWS Cert SysOps	AWS	Associate	Ops.
Azure AZ-900	Microsoft	Entry	Fundamentals.
Azure AZ-104	Microsoft	Intermediate	Administrator.
Azure AZ-500	Microsoft	Intermediate	Security Engineer.
Azure SC-200	Microsoft	Intermediate	Security Operations.
Azure SC-300	Microsoft	Intermediate	Identity & Access.
Azure SC-400	Microsoft	Intermediate	Information Protection.
GCP Pro Cloud Security	Google	Pro	Pro Cloud Security Engineer.
GCP Pro Cloud Architect	Google	Pro	Pro Cloud Architect.
CCSP	(ISC)²	Senior	Cloud security.
CCSK	CSA	Intermediate	Cert of Cloud Sec Knowledge.
CCAK	CSA + ISACA	Intermediate	Cloud Auditing Knowledge.
CKA	CNCF	Intermediate	Kubernetes Administrator.
CKAD	CNCF	Intermediate	Kubernetes App Developer.
CKS	CNCF	Intermediate	Kubernetes Security Specialist.
KCSA	CNCF	Entry	Kubernetes Cloud Security Associate.
KCNA	CNCF	Entry	K8s + Cloud Native Associate.

Networking / vendor#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
Network+	CompTIA	Entry	Vendor-neutral.
CCNA	Cisco	Associate	Networking baseline.
CCNP Sec	Cisco	Pro	Security pro.
CCIE Security	Cisco	Expert	Top Cisco; rare + lab.
JNCIA / JNCIS / JNCIP	Juniper	Various	Juniper tracks; -SEC for security.
PCNSA / PCNSE	Palo Alto	Associate / Eng	Palo Alto admin / engineer.
NSE 4-8	Fortinet	Intermediate / Adv	FortiGate certs.
CWSP	CWNP	Intermediate	Wireless.
F5-CA / F5-CTS	F5	Various	F5 BIG-IP.
HCIA / HCIP / HCIE	Huawei	Various	Huawei tracks (relevant in non-US markets).

Audit / governance / privacy#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
CISA	ISACA	Senior	Audit (above).
CISM	ISACA	Senior	Mgmt (above).
CIPP/E, /US, /A, /C	IAPP	Intermediate	Privacy by region.
CIPM	IAPP	Intermediate	Privacy management.
CIPT	IAPP	Intermediate	Privacy tech.
ISO 27001 LA / LI	Various	Practitioner	Lead Auditor / Lead Implementer.
CSA STAR Auditor	BSI / others	Practitioner	Cloud audit.
SOC 1 / 2 / 3 audit	AICPA	n/a	Service Org Control reports (auditor cert: CPA).

ICS / OT#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
GICSP	GIAC	Intermediate	Global ICS Pro.
GRID	GIAC	Intermediate	Response + Industrial Defense.
GCIP	GIAC	Intermediate	Critical Infrastructure Protection.
ISA/IEC 62443	ISA	Practitioner	62443 Cybersecurity Fundamentals / Risk / Design / Maint.

Programming / app sec / DevSecOps#

Cert	Body	Level	Notes
CSSLP	(ISC)²	Senior	Secure SDLC.
GSEC	GIAC	Intermediate	Security Essentials.
GSSP-JAVA / .NET	GIAC	Intermediate	Secure programming.
GWEB	GIAC	Intermediate	Web app defender.
GAS	GIAC	Intermediate	App Sec.
DCSA	Practical DevSecOps	Intermediate	DevSecOps Cert Architect.
CDP	Practical DevSecOps	Intermediate	Cert DevSecOps Pro.

Frameworks / vendor mention#

DoD 8570 / 8140 IAT / IAM / IASAE maps certs to US-DoD baseline IA roles. Common: Sec+ → IAT II; CISSP → IAT III + IAM III; GSEC → IAT II.
NICE Framework, US workforce framework that maps work roles to KSAs and certs.
CREST, UK + global pentest accreditation (CRT, CCT INF/APP, CCSAS, CCSAM); important for UK gov work.
TIBER-EU, ECB threat-led red team framework; aligned with CREST + Bank of England CBEST.
Tiger Scheme, UK red team accreditation (predecessor of CHECK).
CHECK, UK NCSC-backed pentest scheme.
TLPT (DORA), threat-led pentest required of EU financial entities under DORA.

Operator notes#

OSCP > most entry pentest certs for hands-on signal; GIAC and OffSec dominate the high-trust market.
CISSP is the gate for management roles; the test is about NIST-flavoured governance, not technique.
GIAC certs are expensive ($1k+ exam, often coupled to $7-9k SANS courses); but high-respect.
Vendor specialty matters in MSP / consulting (PCNSE, CCIE Sec, NSE 7-8); ignored in pure offensive shops.
Renewal, (ISC)² CPE every 3 yrs; ISACA every 3 yrs; GIAC every 4 yrs; OffSec one-time then continuing OSCC.
Not equivalent, CEH and the OSCP are not equivalent; CEH is theory, OSCP is performance.
Bug-bounty work doesn’t require certs; reputation + HackerOne / Bugcrowd score is the signal (see Bug Bounty Programs).
Government clearance may be a stronger filter than any cert for cleared work.