SecProve
AssociateVendor-neutralCloud Native Computing Foundation· issued from US

CKS

Cloud Native Computing Foundation Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist

Cloud Native Computing Foundation Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist

Official page at Cloud Native Computing Foundation↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$395
Ongoing
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Study time
—
Delivery
—
Validity
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› Quality score

36.0 / 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.
K8s security blueprint covering cluster hardening, network policies, supply-chain, runtime threat detection (Falco).
9.0/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Fully hands-on lab exam — 2 hours of cluster-hardening tasks. Among the strongest practical security certs.
9.5/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Refreshed alongside K8s release cycle and Falco / OPA / supply-chain tooling updates.
9.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
The Kubernetes-security credential. Required or preferred on most K8s security engineer listings.
8.5/10

› NICE Framework work roles

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

DD-WRL-001IO-WRL-005
Recognition
Global
Exam languages
en

› Core domains covered

The 1 domain this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A5Cloud Security

AWS/Azure/GCP security controls, IAM policies, CSPM, container security, shared responsibility model.

› Prerequisites

Experience

Hold an active CKA. Strong Kubernetes cluster admin experience expected.

› 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 (1)
CKACloud Native Computing Foundation
Recommended priors (0)

No de facto priors typically expected.

CKS
Cloud Native Computing Foundation
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

ML Platform Security Engineer

Secures the platform that trains, stores, and serves ML models — multi-tenant GPU isolation, pipeline integrity, feature-store hygiene, secrets management in ML workflows.

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