The Amazon AWS Certified Security - Specialty certification is intended for candidates to prove their skills in protecting data and workloads in the AWS Cloud. Candidates who carry out their tasks and perform a security role are the best audience for this designation. They also have 2 or more years of experience protecting AWS workloads. To earn this AWS accreditation, you are to pass the SCS-C01 exam.
Though, there are no strict recommendations, to opt for the exam, candidates should have 5 years of IT security experience in applying security solutions and at least 2 years of practical experience in working with AWS workloads, having a good understanding of security risks and operations while dealing with AWS security services, making tradeoff decisions that refer to security, cost, and deployment. Besides, exam-takers should have a solid knowledge base of the cloud security treat models, disaster recovery controls, access control, and controls for workloads on AWS. Understanding the AWS data protection mechanisms, AWS mechanisms, and secure internet protocols is beneficial.
To earn this exam, you need to pass the SCS-C01 exam. It’s intended for candidates who perform a security role. Candidates opting for this evaluation should have a good understanding of the AWS data protection mechanisms, data-encryption methods, AWS mechanism to secure internet protocols. They should be proficient in using AWS security services and features, and understand security risks and operations.
The test comprises 65 questions of multiple choice and multiple response, which are to be tackled within 170 minutes. Only 50 questions will be scored, so you should gain 750 points to pass the exam. The exam is rated at $300.
Regarding the exam content, it falls into 5 domains. The first one is known as incident response. This part checks your skills to work with the AWS abuse notice, assess exposed access keys, and evaluate the suspended compromised instance. To be more precise, you should be able to analyze logs, find a breach, collect relevant data, create a memory dump for further deep analysis. In addition, your skills to verify that AWS services are included in the Incident Response plan, assessing the configuration of automated alerting, reviewing security issues and recommending improvements to existing systems will be checked.
The second part refers to logging and monitoring. This section testifies your skills to design and apply security monitoring and alerting, troubleshoot monitoring and alerting, and design and usage of a logging solution. To add more, your ability to troubleshoot logging solutions will also be assessed.
The third section is focused on infrastructure security. Here, your proficiency in designing edge security on AWS, implementing secure network infrastructure and troubleshooting it will be testified. Your skills to set up and configure host-based protections, usage of host-based firewalls, implementation of suitable methods for host hardening and monitoring will be validated as well.
The fourth part is dedicated to identity and access management. It implies that you are able to design and use a scalable authentication and authorization system to access AWS recourses. For this, you should be knowledgeable of how to access control configuration for AWS services, offer recommendations to lessen risk, manage AWS accounts, implement resource and user policies, and design a scalable authorization model. Besides, you should demonstrate your skills to troubleshoot an authentication and authorization system to access AWS resources.
The fifth part is about data protection. The skills checked in this part are based on your ability to create and use key management, troubleshoot it, design and implement a data encryption solution for data in transit and data at rest. Thus, your knowledge of transport encryption techniques and methods, tag-based data classifications, data protection requirements will be useful.
Regarding the salary of the owners of the Amazon AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification, they earn annually about $143,677 per year.
