ProfessionalVendor-neutralCyberDefenders· issued from US

CCD

Certified CyberDefender

Certified CyberDefender

Exam fee
$200
Ongoing
Study time
120–240 hrs
Delivery
Validity

› Quality score

28.0 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor
How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.
CertifiedCyberDefender syllabus is public; covers detection, IR, threat hunting.
7.5/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Multi-day hands-on engagement against a SOC-style environment.
8.0/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Refreshed alongside the CyberDefenders course platform.
7.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Growing recognition among MSSP and SOC teams; not yet a hiring default.
5.5/10

› Built for these roles

Cloud Security ArchitectAWS Security EngineerDevSecOps EngineerSecurity Operations Analyst (cloud focus)Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

PD-WRL-001PD-WRL-003IO-WRL-006
Recognition
Global
Exam languages
endefresptjakozh

› Core domains covered

The 3 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

› Prerequisites

Experience

Recommended: 3-5 years of relevant security experience. No formal prerequisite from the issuer.

› Progression

requiredrecommended

Where this cert fits in the typical learning path. Required edges are vendor-gated; recommended edges reflect de facto industry progression.

Required prereqs (0)

No vendor-gated prereqs.

Recommended priors (1)
CCD
CyberDefenders
Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (0)

No follow-on certs reference this one yet.

› Careers that commonly pursue this cert

SOC Analyst

Monitor, detect, and respond to security threats in a Security Operations Center. The front line of cyber defense.

Detection Engineer

Build detection rules, tune SIEM systems, and hunt for threats that evade automated defenses.

See this cert’s domains highlighted on the interactive map, or compare it against the rest of the catalog.