SecProve
AssociateVendor-neutralGIAC· issued from US

GFACT

GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies

GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies

Official page at GIAC↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$979
Ongoing
$0/yr AMF · 9 CPE/yr
Study time
60–120 hrs
Delivery
Hybrid
Validity
4 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

25.0 / 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.
SEC275-aligned fundamentals ECO; broad entry-level coverage.
7.0/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Open-book MCQ recognition.
4.5/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Refreshed alongside SEC275 to track modern fundamentals.
8.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Entry-level GIAC; popular SEC401-prep stepping stone.
5.5/10

› Exam format

75 questions + CyberLive, 3 hours, open-book, proctored via Pearson VUE. Passing score: ~70%.

Passing score
60% (scaled per attempt)
Retake policy
Fee: $999 per attempt
Wait: 30d between attempts

30-day wait between attempts. SANS course bundles typically include 2 attempts.

› Recertification

Valid for 4 years. Renewal through 36 CPE credits or renewal exam (479 USD). Each GIAC cert separately.

› NICE Framework work roles

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

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

› Core domains covered

The 2 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A1Governance, Risk & Compliance

Risk frameworks (NIST RMF, ISO 31000, FAIR), policy development, audit, regulatory compliance, third-party risk.

A2Network Security

Firewalls, IDS/IPS, network segmentation, DNS security, SD-WAN, VPN, traffic analysis, wireless security.

› Prerequisites

Experience

None. Entry-level certification for cybersecurity fundamentals.

› Study materials

Curated starting points. Not exhaustive — vet each against your learning style and the current exam version.

Official guides
Practice tests
  • GIAC Practice Tests (2 included with exam)
Free / community

› Version & lifecycle

Current version
2024 SEC275 refresh
Released
2024-04

› Salary signal

Career-changer / IT generalist, US, 0-2 years.

$60K–$90K
median $72K

Robert Half Salary Guide · 2024 · US base only · p25–p75 range

› How it compares

vs
Security+

GFACT is broader IT-foundations; Security+ is security-specific. Often pursued before Security+.

↔ Compare side-by-side

› Common exam traps to study

Cybersecurity cert exams reuse the same 25 distractor patterns over and over — category confusion, RTO vs RPO, IDS vs IPS, MD5 vs SHA-256, and more. Once you can name the trap, you stop falling for it. Each archetype page covers what it is, the specific pairs candidates confuse, and how to avoid it.

Browse all 25 cert-exam trapsStart with: BEST vs correct

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

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