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AWS Certified Security – Specialty

Siji Roy
Last Updated June 14, 2022 10:13 am

The AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification program provides skills and knowledge essential for managing the AWS platform securely. Learn more about this AWS security certification and how to get it in this guide.

What Is AWS Certified Security – Specialty?

AWS Certified Security – Specialty is a security certification that offers advanced knowledge on cloud security and the skills to secure the AWS platform. The certification validates a practitioner’s abilities in managing AWS security, identity and compliance, AWS architecting, and AWS security engineering.

What Are the Requirements for This AWS Security Certification?

Individuals who are interested in earning the AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification must possess the following skills and experience in order to take the certification exam:

  • Five years of experience designing and implementing IT security solutions
  • Two years of experience in securing AWS workloads
  • Basic knowledge of security controls for AWS workloads

What Is the Exam Format for This Certification? 

The exam contains 50 questions, including both multiple choice and multiple response questions. Unanswered questions are considered incorrect answers and points are deducted from the score accordingly. The exam format also includes 15 unscored questions to help test administrators evaluate whether those questions make sense for future scored exam questions.

The certification is valid for a period of three years and can be earned by security professionals of varying backgrounds; the exam can be taken in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

The exam contains questions from the following five domains:

  1. Incident response
  2. Logging and monitoring
  3. Infrastructure security
  4. Identity and access management
  5. Data protection

How Much Does It Cost to Get Certified?

The AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam costs $300 for each attempt. Candidates can pay for the exam using credit cards or vouchers. 

What Are the Benefits of Earning the AWS Certified Security – Specialty?

The AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification offers the following significant benefits: 

  • The certification validates the skills and expertise of individuals as AWS specialists.
  • It certifies that an individual is capable of providing organizations with a secure AWS production environment.
  • It equips individuals with the knowledge to make difficult decisions concerning cost, security, and deployment needs on AWS.

Top Careers for an AWS Security Certification

Security and cloud professionals of various backgrounds can benefit from this AWS security certification. These are some of the most common professional roles of individuals who earn the AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification:

  • AWS cloud architect: Provides organizations with technical leadership and designs cost-effective, relevant AWS solutions for business needs.
  • Cloud security engineer: Offers cloud-based management and security services. They assess cloud security projects and prioritize them based on security risk analysis.
  • Information security officer: Monitor organizations’ security infrastructure and develop and implement top security strategies.
  • Core infrastructure engineer: Plan, develop, implement, and monitor security measures. They also conduct security risk analysis and provide solutions for security threats.

Not sure if the AWS Certified Security – Specialty is right for you? Consider pursuing some of these other top cybersecurity certifications: The A to Z Cyber Security & IT Certification Training Bundle.