This credential helps organizations identify and develop talent with critical skills for implementing cloud initiatives. Earning AWS Certified Security – Specialty validates expertise in securing data and workloads in the AWS Cloud.
Who should take this exam?
AWS Certified Security – Specialty is intended for individuals who perform a security role and have at least two years of hands-on experience securing AWS workloads. Before you take this exam, we recommend you have:
- Five years of IT security experience in designing and implementing security solutions and at least two years of hands-on experience in securing AWS workloads
- Working knowledge of AWS security services and features of services to provide a secure production environment and an understanding of security operations and risks
- Knowledge of the AWS shared responsibility model and its application; security controls for workloads on AWS; logging and monitoring strategies; cloud security threat models; patch management and security automation; ways to enhance AWS security services with third-party tools and services; and disaster recovery controls, including BCP and backups, encryption, access control, and data retention
- Understanding of specialized data classifications and AWS data protection mechanisms, data-encryption methods and AWS mechanisms to implement them, and secure internet protocols and AWS mechanisms to implement them
- Ability to make tradeoff decisions with regard to cost, security, and deployment complexity to meet a set of application requirements
Prerequisites
To earn this certification, you’ll need to take and pass the AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam (SCS-C01). The exam features a combination of two question formats: multiple choice and multiple response. Additional information, such as the exam content outline and passing score, is in the exam guide.
Recommended training for this certification
- Getting Started with AWS Security, Identity, and Compliance (elearning)
- AWS Security Essentials (SEC-ESS)
- Architecting on AWS (AWSA)
- Security Engineering on AWS (AWSSO)
Exams
AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam (SCS-C01)
Recertification for the Specialty certification
Take the Current Specialty exam
You can take the current Specialty exam for the certification you already have. For example, if you are an AWS Certified Security – Specialist, you can retake the current AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam to recertify. You can use your 50% discount voucher from the Benefits section of your AWS Certification account to recertify or apply it to any future certification exam you wish to pursue.
Recertification
AWS Certifications are valid for three years. To maintain your AWS Certified status, we require you to periodically demonstrate your continued expertise though a process called recertification. Recertification helps strengthen the overall value of your AWS Certification and shows individuals and employers that your credential covers the latest AWS knowledge, skills, and best practices.