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The SecOps Group CCSP-AWS Certification Review: My Experience and What You Need to Know

kangwijen

3 min read

I passed The SecOps Group CCSP-AWS certification. The Certified Cloud Security Practitioner (CCSP-AWS) is an entry-level exam that tests a candidate's knowledge of core AWS cloud security concepts. It is intended for security engineers, security analysts, solution architects, cloud solution developers, threat analysts, penetration testers, red and blue team members, and security enthusiasts with strong existing knowledge of cloud security. I pursued it because of my personal interest in cloud security.

How I prepared

I prepared for the CCSP-AWS exam with an online course and practical work. My main study resource was Stephane Maarek's AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Udemy Course. I also gained hands-on experience by deploying and using various AWS services. I finished the Udemy course in 2 weeks, and I've been using AWS since mid-2024.

What the exam is like

The CCSP-AWS exam consists of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and lasts 1 hour. It is a proctored online exam available on demand. The exam costs £100.

The exam syllabus covers these areas:

  • Authentication, authorization and access control: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS Cognito, and AWS Service Control Policies (SCPs).
  • Data security: AWS Key Management Service (KMS), AWS Secrets Manager, and AWS Certificate Manager.
  • Compliance and governance: AWS Config and AWS Organizations.
  • Infrastructure security: AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), AWS Security Groups, and AWS Network ACLs.
  • Monitoring and incident response: AWS CloudWatch, AWS CloudTrail, AWS Detective, and AWS GuardDuty.
  • Common security issues related to AWS services: AWS Elastic Container Services (ECS), AWS Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS), AWS Elastic Compute Services (EC2), AWS Simple Storage Services (S3), and AWS Lambda Functions.
  • Common application security attacks on AWS Cloud: Broken Access Control, Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF), SQL Injection, Code Injection, and general security practices.

The questions mix factual knowledge with scenario-based challenges, so you need both recall and practical experience. A few trick questions require careful reading. The Udemy course helped a lot with the theory, although hands-on experience matters because the course doesn't discuss security in depth. Candidates must score over 60% to pass, while a score over 75% earns a "pass with merit" status.

My strategy

I speed ran through the 60 questions and marked any I wasn't sure about so I could return to them later. I read each question carefully to identify keywords and understand what was being asked. For difficult questions, I used the process of elimination to narrow down the choices.

Resources and tips

Stephane Maarek's AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course on Udemy breaks down core AWS services and concepts in an easy-to-understand format. Pair it with the AWS Security Documentation for official, in-depth information about security practices. Make a study schedule and focus on understanding the concepts rather than memorizing facts. Before the proctored exam, get enough rest, find a quiet place, check your internet connection, and read the instructions carefully.

Is CCSP-AWS worth taking?

I think the CCSP-AWS certification offers pretty good value because it demonstrates a candidate's understanding of AWS Cloud Security, which might help with career advancement. I recommend it to cloud security enthusiasts only if they can get a steep discount like I did. Otherwise, I would take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification instead.

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