AWS Certified Security - Specialty
This blog post talks about AWS Certified Security - Specialty Certification.
Introduction
AWS Certified Security - Specialty validates your expertise in creating and implementing security solutions in the AWS Cloud. This certification also validates your 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. I passed this exam in Nov 2024. Check out my AWS SAA post here for Tips & Tricks to help you in your AWS certification journey. I wont repeat those here!
Exam details
Why did i choose this?
I was inspired to attempt this cert after attending Security Engineering on AWS + Security Engineering JAM workshop. The workshop focused on various Security offerings in the AWS environment and also touched on logging and log storage. I felt that it was a good opportunity to put what I've learnt to good use, before I forget it all... Also, it has been a year since I completed my SAA, and with the ongoing expansion in cloud, this was a perfect fit.
Cost
The certification exam goes for $300 USD for all AWS Specialty certs. Thankfully, I used the 50% discount voucher from passing SAA to offset my exam cost. In the end, I paid roughly $200 SGD. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any promotions that offer discounts to any Specialty or Professional certs.
Study Materials
If you have money to spare, I would recommend getting a course on Udemy that covers the topics tested in the exam. It should be around 20-30 dollars. Personally, I felt that I didnt need a crash course so I just bought practise papers from Tutorial Dojo 1. One other helpful tip that really helped me to understand certain features is the offical AWS documentation. I find that their documentation is very well organised and contains all the information required 2.
For example: Lets say I want to find out a little more about Cloud Trail, a simple google search will bring me to this page and I can navigate on the left to see all relevant topics related to CT. There are more complex security products like CloudWatch but I'll leave that up to you to learn. :)
Exam
The exam duration is 170 minutes with 65 questions; either multiple choice or multiple response 3. I took this exam online via PersonVue.
Honest Opinions
I really liked the learning process leading up to this exam. The exam itself did not feel overwhelmingly difficult, nor was it too easy. I learnt alot and will be trying to apply some of the knowledge gained in my day job in the future. Even if you're not looking to take the exam, I highly recommend going through the topics tested for Security Specialty if you're interested in the security aspect of AWS.