Use this quick start guide to collect all the information about GIAC GCSA Certification exam. This study guide provides a list of objectives and resources that will help you prepare for items on the GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA) exam. The Sample Questions will help you identify the type and difficulty level of the questions and the Practice Exams will make you familiar with the format and environment of an exam. You should refer this guide carefully before attempting your actual GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA) certification exam.
The GIAC GCSA certification is mainly targeted to those candidates who want to build their career in Cloud Security domain. The GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA) exam verifies that the candidate possesses the fundamental knowledge and proven skills in the area of GIAC GCSA.
GIAC GCSA Exam Summary:
| Exam Name | GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA) |
| Exam Code | GCSA |
| Exam Price | $999 (USD) |
| Duration | 120 mins |
| Number of Questions | 75 |
| Passing Score | 66% |
| Books / Training | SEC540: Cloud Native Security and DevSecOps Automation |
| Schedule Exam | PearsonVUE |
| Sample Questions | GIAC GCSA Sample Questions |
| Practice Exam | GIAC GCSA Certification Practice Exam |
GIAC GCSA Exam Syllabus Topics:
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Architecture and Fundamentals of Container Orchestration | - The candidate can identify the core components of container orchestration by utilizing Kubernetes. The candidate can use the kubectl command line interface to interact with Kubernetes resources |
| Automated Cloud Remediation | - The candidate can explain how policy-as-code tools detect and correct cloud configuration drift. The candidate can construct rules to automatically evaluate and remediate cloud resource misconfigurations. |
| Cloud Compliance as Code | - The candidate will demonstrate understanding of continuous compliance and policy approaches that integrate enforcement and automation directly into the DevOps toolchain. |
| Cloud Native Observability | - The candidate can summarize the components of microservice observability such as Kubernetes cluster's metrics, logs, and traces. |
| Container Lifecycle Security | - The candidate can identify the lifecycle steps towards container security. The candidate can apply various techniques towards hardening and scanning containers. |
| Deploying Cloud Infrastructure as Code | - The candidate can define IaC concepts and utilize typical tooling to define and deploy IaC. The candidate can identify common IaC security misconfigurations using automated scanning tools. |
| Edge Identity and Authentication | - The candidate can identify common approaches to authenticating external users before they reach microservices. The candidate can utilize foundational concepts such as IAM and managed identify providers and identify core components such as users, groups, and JWT best practices. |
| Managing Secrets | - The candidate can summarize how secrets flow through the DevOps pipeline. The candidate can utilize common secure storage approaches for secrets management. |
| Microservice API Gateways | - The candidate can apply the benefits of establishing intra-cluster microsegmentation using Kubernetes components such as network policy and service mesh. |
| Microservices Architecture and Deployment | - The candidate can identify the security implications of using microservices. The candidate can apply secure deployment changes to a running microservice environment. |
| Policy Enforcement | - The candidate can explain how application security posture management (ASPM) platforms ingest and deduplicate findings from multiple pipeline sources. The candidate can apply policy-as-code controls to enforce deployment approvals based on application security posture. |
| Risks, Authentication, and Access-Control of Container Orchestration | - The candidate can identify essential security controls used by Kubernetes, such as authentication and role-based access control. The candidate can identify known risks and attack vectors targeting Kubernetes clusters. |
| Runtime Security in Container Orchestration | - The candidate can identify how Kubernetes admission controllers enforce security policy and prevent misconfigured or malicious workloads at runtime. |
| Securing the DevOps Workflow | - The candidate can utilize security features made available in CI/CD systems. The candidate can identify secure objectives within the pre-commit and pre-merge phases. The candidate can apply workflow hardening utilizing AI-augmented controls. |
| Software Supply Chain Security | - The candidate can apply standard steps towards securing the container image supply chain. The candidate can apply standard management techniques, such as artifact signing or SBOM vulnerability scanning. |
| Understanding the DevOps Workflow | - The candidate can define DevOps practices and principles. The candidate can identify risks and key weaknesses to a vulnerable DevOps workflow. |
| Utilizing Configuration Management | - The candidate can identify security benefits of building hardened, trusted, machine images. The candidate can utilize programs that enable the use of gold images within the DevOps pipeline. |
| Workload Security in Container Orchestration | - The candidate can summarize documented issues with how Kubernetes pods authenticate to cloud services. The candidate can utilize core solutions such as OIDC-based workload identity. |
To ensure success in GIAC GCSA certification exam, we recommend authorized training course, practice test and hands-on experience to prepare for GIAC Cloud Security Automation (GCSA) exam.
