15 Certifications

Cybersecurity Certifications

A curated guide to the most valuable certifications — from entry-level to expert, covering every specialization.

Showing 15 of 15 certifications

Recommended

OSCP

Offensive Security Certified Professional

AdvancedPenetration Testing Offensive Security

$1,499

90-day lab access + 24-hour practical exam

Buffer overflowsActive Directory attacksWeb application testing+2

Official

OSEP

Offensive Security Experienced Penetration Tester

ExpertPenetration Testing Offensive Security

$1,499

90-day lab access + 48-hour practical exam

Antivirus evasionAdvanced AD attacksLateral movement+2

Official

Recommended

eJPT

eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester

EntryPenetration Testing INE Security

$200

72-hour practical exam

Network scanningWeb application basicsExploitation fundamentals+2

Official

eCPPT

eLearnSecurity Certified Professional Penetration Tester

IntermediatePenetration Testing INE Security

$400

7-day practical exam + report submission

Advanced web attacksNetwork penetration testingMetasploit framework+2

Official

Recommended

PNPT

Practical Network Penetration Tester

IntermediatePenetration Testing TCM Security

$399

5-day practical exam + 2-day report submission

External and internal penetration testingActive Directory attacksOSINT+2

Official

CEH

Certified Ethical Hacker

IntermediatePenetration Testing EC-Council

$950–$1,199

Multiple choice exam (4 hours, 125 questions)

FootprintingScanningEnumeration+5

Official

Recommended

Security+

CompTIA Security+

EntryGeneral Security CompTIA

$392

Multiple choice + performance-based (90 minutes, max 90 questions)

Threats and attacksCryptographyIdentity management+3

Official

PenTest+

CompTIA PenTest+

IntermediatePenetration Testing CompTIA

$392

Multiple choice + performance-based (165 minutes, max 85 questions)

Planning and scopingInformation gatheringVulnerability scanning+2

Official

CySA+

CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst

IntermediateDefensive Security CompTIA

$392

Multiple choice + performance-based (165 minutes, max 85 questions)

Threat intelligenceVulnerability managementIncident response+2

Official

Recommended

CISSP

Certified Information Systems Security Professional

ExpertManagement & Governance (ISC)²

$749

Adaptive exam (3–6 hours, 125–175 questions)

Security and risk managementAsset securityCryptography+4

Official

CISM

Certified Information Security Manager

AdvancedManagement & Governance ISACA

$575–$760

Multiple choice (4 hours, 150 questions)

Information security governanceRisk managementSecurity program development+1

Official

GCIH

GIAC Certified Incident Handler

IntermediateIncident Response GIAC / SANS

$979

Multiple choice (3 hours, 106 questions) open-book

Incident handling processComputer crime investigationAttack techniques+2

Official

GPEN

GIAC Penetration Tester

AdvancedPenetration Testing GIAC / SANS

$979

Multiple choice (3 hours, 115 questions) open-book

Penetration testing methodologiesPassword attacksScanning and exploitation+2

Official

AWS Security

AWS Certified Security — Specialty

AdvancedCloud Security Amazon Web Services

$300

Multiple choice (170 minutes, 65 questions)

IAMKMSCloudTrail+4

Official

AZ-500

Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate

AdvancedCloud Security Microsoft

$165

Multiple choice + case studies (120 minutes, 40–60 questions)

Azure AD identityPlatform protectionSecurity operations+2

Official