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Compare certifications Pick up to 3 certifications and compare them side-by-side on cost, exam format, recertification, salary signal, quality, and domain coverage.
Cloud Security Alliance · professional
CSA CCSK Cloud Security Alliance Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge
The CCSK from the Cloud Security Alliance is one of the most widespread vendor-neutral cloud security certifications worldwide. It is based on three core sources: the CSA Security Guidance v4, the ENISA Cloud Computing Risk Assessment, and the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). The exam is fully online and open-book — this lowers the entry barrier but also means less practical proof than e.g. CCSP. No professional experience required, no expiration date. Good as an entry point into cloud security and as preparation for the CCSP, but not a strong career building block on its own.
Official page ISC2 · professional
CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional
Cloud security architecture: shared responsibility, identity, data protection, crypto, and cloud-native detection.
Official page Comparing
Cloud Security Alliance CSA CCSK
ISC2 CCSP
› Cost Annual maintenance fee
—
$135/yr
3-year cost of ownership
$295
$1,004
› Exam mechanics Pass mark
CSA CCSK 80% (60/75 questions correct)
CCSP 700/1000 (scaled)
Pass mark
80% (60/75 questions correct)
700/1000 (scaled)
Retake policy
CSA CCSK $0 fee · 0d wait
CCSP $599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Retake policy
$0 fee · 0d wait
$599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Study time
CSA CCSK 40–100 hrs
CCSP 100–180 hrs
Study time
40–100 hrs
100–180 hrs
› Salary signal (US base) Range
CSA CCSK $90K – $130K
CCSP $130K – $190K
Range
$90K – $130K
$130K – $190K
Median
CSA CCSK $108,000
CCSP $155,000
Role context
CSA CCSK Cloud security analyst / cloud generalist, US, 2–5 years.
CCSP Cloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
Role context
Cloud security analyst / cloud generalist, US, 2–5 years.
Cloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10) › Recognition & lifecycle Recognition
CSA CCSK Global
CCSP Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Current version
CSA CCSK v5 (2024-04)
CCSP 2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
Current version
v5 (2024-04)
2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
› Domain coverage A10 Security Operations
·
○ touched
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
·
○ touched
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
·
● core
A13 Supply Chain Security
·
○ touched
A23 Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
A23 Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
·
● core
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
·
● core
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
·
○ touched
A5 Cloud Security
● core
● core
A6 Identity & Access Management
A6 Identity & Access Management
·
● core
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
·
⚠ gap
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
·
⚠ gap
C6 AI Infrastructure Security
C6 AI Infrastructure Security
·
⚠ gap
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