www.giac.org




About the GIAC Exam Challenge

GIAC Exam Challenge is for subject matter experts to achieve GIAC Certification status without any of the associated SANS training packages. When you register for a Challenge Certification, you will receive access to two practice tests and the certification exam only.

You can currently challenge a number of Certifications. Below is a complete listing.

CertificationChallengeBulletinTimeframe
GWAPT $899.00 view 4 Months
GSNA $899.00 view 4 Months
GSLC $899.00 view 4 Months
GISF $899.00 view 4 Months
GSEC $899.00 view 4 Months
GCFW $899.00 view 4 Months
GCIA $899.00 view 4 Months
GCIH $899.00 view 4 Months
GCWN $899.00 view 4 Months
GCUX $899.00 -- 4 Months
GCFA $899.00 view 4 Months
GISP $899.00 -- 4 Months
GSOC $899.00 -- 4 Months
GLEG $899.00 -- 4 Months
GAWN $899.00 -- 4 Months
GREM $899.00 -- 4 Months
GPEN $899.00 view 4 Months
G7799 $899.00 view 4 Months
GSSP-JAVA $899.00 -- 4 Months
GSSP-NET $899.00 view 4 Months

All prices are shown in US Dollars.

There is an alumni price of $749 for certifications.

GIAC Challenge Certification applications are subject to approval and this may cause a slight delay in availability of the product. You will be asked to summarize your security related work experience and network security training when you register.

Not all GIAC certifications are available to take via the Challenge program. Once our quality assurance process is complete, the certification may be made available for open registration to anyone who wishes to attempt it as a Challenge Certification. If you are looking to challenge a certification and it's not listed on this page, please check back in the future for new additions to the Challenge program.

Registering for Challenge Certification

To register for a Challenge attempt, complete the online registration form. The Challenge registration fee for GIAC Certifications is $899 USD. There is a SANS alumni rate for anyone who has previously taken the specific SANS training course associated with the certification they want to challenge. For example, if you previously took SANS Security Essentials through any of the SANS training venues, you would be eligible for the discounted fee for the GSEC Challenge. The alumni rate for full certifications is $749 USD.

Please email info@giac.org to receive the appropriate discount code.

I had to install and configure a new firewall from a new vendor for our lab network. Nobody in the local office had touched one before but I was given the task since I was GIAC GCFW Certified. Information presented in the course and reinforced through the certification process, along with the limited amount of previous firewall admin experience was enough to get up, running and securely configured within two days. Given that there are 8 legs on the firewall, each needing different security levels, and I was reading the manual, I figure that's not a bad feat. There were some minor glitches, mainly of the "too tightly locked down" type, but again with the skills I've gained from SANS training and the GIAC Certification process they were easy to correct. - Rick Smith, Senior Systems Security Engineer, SAIC
Number of certified professionals: 29,915
MGT525@ SANS Security West 2010