GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester Certification
Introduction:
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying ahead means not just keeping pace with the latest technologies but mastering them. This principle guided me as I embarked on a journey to achieve the GIAC Certified Penetration Tester (GCPN) certification, a testament to expertise in cloud penetration testing. This blog post aims to share my journey, shed light on what the GCPN certification entails, its level of difficulty, and its comprehensive coverage, helping aspiring cybersecurity professionals understand the significance and value of this certification.
What is the GCPN Certification?
The GCPN certification, offered by the Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), is designed for security practitioners focused on cloud penetration testing. It validates the holder's expertise in identifying vulnerabilities and security issues within cloud environments, specifically targeting services provided by major players like AWS and Azure. The certification covers a broad spectrum of cloud security aspects, from Cloud Penetration Testing Fundamentals to advanced topics like Cloud Native Applications with Containers and CI/CD Pipelines.
Areas Covered:
Cloud Penetration Testing Fundamentals, Environment Mapping, and Service Discovery: Establishes the foundational knowledge required for effective penetration testing in cloud environments.
AWS and Azure Cloud Services and Attacks: Delves into the specific services provided by AWS and Azure, highlighting potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors.
Cloud Native Applications with Containers and CI/CD Pipelines: Focuses on the security of applications designed to run in the cloud, leveraging modern development and deployment practices.
Who Should Consider the GCPN?
The GCPN certification is tailor-made for a diverse group of professionals within the cybersecurity realm, including:
Attack-focused and defense-focused security practitioners
Penetration testers
Vulnerability analysts
Risk assessment officers
DevOps engineers
Site reliability engineers
This wide-ranging applicability underscores the certification's value across different roles, emphasizing the importance of cloud security knowledge in today’s tech landscape.
Exam Format and Delivery:
The GCPN certification exam is a rigorous assessment of one's knowledge and skills in cloud penetration testing. The exam format is as follows:
Format: 1 proctored exam
Questions: 75
Duration: 2 hours
Passing Score: Minimum of 70%
Candidates have the flexibility to choose between remote proctoring through ProctorU and onsite proctoring through PearsonVUE, with the entire certification process being web-based. Upon payment and registration confirmation, candidates receive an activation in their GIAC account and have 120 days to complete their certification attempt.
Exam Certification Objectives & Outcome Statements:
The exam's objectives are comprehensive, covering critical aspects of cloud penetration testing across AWS, Azure, and general cloud environments. These include understanding AWS authentication methods, Azure Functions, application mapping through APIs, cloud native applications, CI/CD pipelines, containers and Kubernetes, discovering cloud services, password attacks, and much more. This wide array of topics ensures that certified individuals are well-equipped to tackle security challenges in the cloud.
The Challenge of the Exam:
Achieving the GCPN certification is no small feat. The exam's breadth and depth make it a challenging endeavor, requiring a solid understanding of cloud environments, penetration testing methodologies, and specific cloud services and vulnerabilities. However, for those committed to excelling in the cybersecurity field, especially in roles related to cloud security, the effort is undoubtedly worth it. The certification not only validates your expertise but also significantly enhances your professional standing in a competitive job market.
In the next section, I will share my personal journey towards achieving the GCPN certification, including the challenges I faced, the resources I found most helpful, and my tips for aspiring candidates. Stay tuned to learn how you too can navigate the path to becoming a GIAC Certified Penetration Tester and make your mark in the cloud security domain.
Before the Class:
My previous experience with the cloud wasn't much. It was spinning up an EC2 instance on AWS and using it as a VPS for simulated hacking and research purposes. Outside of that, I just had a vague understanding of how the cloud even worked. This lack of knowledge led me to having a very difficult time with this course as the instructor was using terms that anyone should know that's had a basic cloud course before. I was way behind. I actually ended up failing my first attempt with this course. Before re attempting, I had to buckle down and really learn more about the cloud. I used resources already in my pocket such as subscriptions to HTB, Tryhackme, and even a course on DigitalU (Udemy). This greatly helped me to fully grasp what I was missing previously. I would recommend to at least know cloud basics before taking this class.
The Class:
The class itself was super insightful. The instructor who I had (Moses Frost) was an execellent teacher/instructor. Once I knew the terminology he was using, I had many "aha!" moments with what he was saying. This class then became very easy to follow. The labs were super in depth, better than anywhere I have seen. It is difficult to create labs for this as you're having to use cloud environments, which usually costs extra money to run. I was able to scan cloud IP ranges, create backdoor containers, expose secrets, hack into s3 buckets, enumerate tenants and users, all kinds of activities. Things that made me shake my head as to why security was an afterthough when creating the cloud. Two of the main things I really learned from this was that 1. Permissions configurations are everything, whether that is user or global, and 2. attacking identity is far more easier than I thought. I learned so much from this course combined with the other courses of basic cloud functions.
The Exam:
I've taken 2 other GIAC cert exams before this one. I finished those exams rather quickly, had some time left on both of them. This exam however, I was working on it all the way to the very last minute. I almost ran out of time! It wasn't that I didn't know the material, it's that I was wanting to double check all of my first thought answers as I moved along. My index was decently made and I was able to find everything I was looking for with ease, but even then, if you didn't pay attention to the labs and instructor while he was speaking, you might have some questions that will throw you off. The books might say something about what you're looking for, but not in the same context or same level of what you're needing for the answer. This is why you need to take great notes for this exam. Note taking defintely saved me. All in all, this was one of the tougher exams, but not toughest that I have taken. I will say that the OSCP is still the toughest exam I've had, as it was practical, hands on hacking. This was a close second for the mental stress that was placed on me. I hope to continue to expand my knowledge on the cloud as there is almost limitless possibility with it.
-Sam
