GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA)

• DevOps and DevSecOps fundamentals, Secure Infrastructure and Configuration Management
• Securing Cloud Architecture, Continuous Security Monitoring
• Data and Secrets Protection, Compliance
• Security and Automation related to Deployment, Runtime and Content Delivery

• Anyone working in a public cloud or DevOps environment
• Developers
• Software architects
• Operations engineers
• System administrators
• Security analysts and engineers
• Auditors
• Risk managers
• Security consultants

NOTE: All GIAC Certification exams are web-based and required to be proctored. There are two proctoring options: remote proctoring through ProctorU, and onsite proctoring through PearsonVUE. Click here for more information.

GIAC certification attempts will be activated in your GIAC account after your application has been approved and according to the terms of your purchase. Details on delivery will be provided along with your registration confirmation upon payment. You will receive an email notification when your certification attempt has been activated in your account. You will have 120 days from the date of activation to complete your certification attempt.

• Microservice Security
  The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of microservice architecture and implementation in a DevOps environment. The candidate will show familiarity with the architecture's attack surface and appropriate security controls used in various architectural designs and conditions.
• Automated Remediation
  The candidate will show familiarity with the benefits and objectives of event-based architecture and design that enables automated actions towards detection, prevention, and remediation of risks.
• Compliance as Code
  The candidate will demonstrate understanding of continuous compliance and policy approaches that integrate enforcement and automation directly into the DevOps toolchain.
• Configuration Management as Code
  The candidate will demonstrate understanding of managing infrastructure using programmable configuration management toolsets.
• Container Security
  The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of container security issues, hardening containerized environments, container orchestration tools, and running these workloads in the cloud.
• Deployment and Observability
  The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with deployment orchestration techniques, such as blue/green, and demonstrate understanding of cloud native security monitoring to enable actionable telemetry.
• DevOps Fundamentals
  The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with Secure DevOps fundamentals and culture, including terminology, automation, cloud infrastructure integration, and security risks.
• DevSecOps Security Controls
  The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the DevOps deployment pipeline and security considerations for each step of the Continuous Delivery and Continuous Integration processes.
• Kubernetes Architecture
  The candidate will show understanding of kubernetes cluster components, essential API commands, basic resources, and deployment workflow.
• Kubernetes Controls
  The candidate will demonstrate knowledge specific to securing container runtimes and orchestration, as well as familiarity with security risks, security guides, and hardening techniques.
• Kubernetes Secure Design
  The candidate will show familiarity with secure design approaches to kubernetes clusters running on cloud managed services.
• Kubernetes Secure Operations
  The candidate will demonstrate understanding of kubernetes runtime security controls for workloads, such as micro-segmentation and admission controllers.
• Secrets Administration
  The candidate will demonstrate understanding of cloud secret managers and vaults for storing, managing, and retrieving sensitive data.
• Secure Infrastructure as Code
  The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of setting up and managing cloud infrastructure via code. The candidate will show familiarity with cloud provider and third-party tools used to manage cloud infrastructure resources.
• Serverless Security
  The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with serverless architectures, their features, advantages, security concerns, and tactics for deploying effective security in serverless implementations.

• Training is available in a variety of modalities including live training and OnDemand
• Practical work experience can help ensure that you have mastered the skills necessary for certification.
• College level courses or self paced study through another program or materials may meet the needs for mastery.
• Get information about the procedure to contest exam results.

Practice Tests

• These tests are a simulation of the real exam allowing you to become familiar with the test engine and style of questions.
• Practice exams are a gauge to determine if your preparation methods are sufficient.
• The practice bank questions are limited so you may encounter the same question on practice tests when multiple practice tests are purchased.
• Practice exams never include actual exam questions.
• Purchase a GCSA practice test here.
• GIAC recommends leveraging additional study methods for test preparation.