ProfessionalVendor-neutralEC-Council· issued from US

ECES

EC Council Certified Encryption Specialist

Official page at EC-Council ↔ Compare with another cert

Exam fee

$450

Ongoing

$80/yr AMF · 40 CPE/yr

Study time

60–120 hrs

Delivery

Hybrid

Validity

3 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

20.0 / 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.

EC-Council Encryption Specialist — covers symmetric/asymmetric, PKI, modes.

6.5/10

Practical evidence

Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.

Largely MCQ; includes some applied items.

3.0/10

Currency & upkeep

How aggressively content is kept current with the field.

Refresh cadence trails NIST cryptographic guidance.

5.5/10

Market recognition

How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.

Recognised in cryptography-leaning roles; smaller market than ISC2 / SANS equivalents.

5.0/10

› Exam format

50 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, proctored. Passing score: 70%.

Retake policy

Fee: $499 per attempt

Wait: 0d between attempts

First retake immediate; 14 days between attempts 2-3, 1 month between 3-4, 3 months between 4-5. Max 5 attempts/year.

› Recertification

Valid for 3 years. 120 ECE credits over 3 years + annual AMF (80 USD).

› 3-year cost of ownership

Exam (1×)

$450

AMF (3×)

$240@$80/yr

Total

$690

Excludes study materials, training, retake risk, and lost-wage opportunity. Use as a floor estimate.

› NICE Framework work roles

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

PD-WRL-007DD-WRL-004

Recognition

Global

Exam languages

› Core domains covered

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

A15Cryptography

Symmetric/asymmetric, PKI, TLS/SSL, hashing, post-quantum cryptography, key management.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Recommended: Basic knowledge of cryptography.

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