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ProfessionalVendor-neutralGIAC· issued from US

GIME

GIAC iOS and MacOS Examiner

GIAC iOS and MacOS Examiner

Official page at GIAC↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$979
Ongoing
$0/yr AMF · 9 CPE/yr
Study time
150–280 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.
GIAC Mobile Examiner — FOR585-aligned; mobile forensics blueprint.
8.0/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Cyber Live segment with mobile artefact analysis.
5.5/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
FOR585 refreshed in 2023.
6.5/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Specialist mobile-DFIR signal; small absolute market.
5.0/10

› Built for these roles

IT Risk ManagerGRC Manager / Compliance OfficerIT AuditorCISO / Security ManagerEnterprise Risk Manager

› Exam format

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

Passing score
70% (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 via 36 CPE credits or renewal exam ($479). Each GIAC cert separately.

› NICE Framework work roles

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

PD-WRL-001IN-WRL-001IN-WRL-002PD-WRL-002PD-WRL-003
Recognition
Global
Exam languages
en

› Core domains covered

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

A7Incident Response & Forensics

IR playbooks, memory/disk/network forensics, chain of custody, malware analysis.

A16Mobile & IoT Security

MDM, mobile app vulnerabilities, IoT protocols, firmware analysis, embedded systems security.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Associated SANS course highly recommended.

› 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 (2)
GCFEGIAC / SANSGCFAGIAC / SANS
GIME
GIAC
Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (0)

No follow-on certs reference this one yet.

› 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 FOR518 refresh
Released
2024-08

› Salary signal

Apple-platform forensic examiner, US, 4-6 years. Niche specialty.

$110K–$165K
median $135K

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

› How it compares

vs
GCFE

GiME is iOS + macOS focused; GCFE is Windows-focused. Different platform experts.

↔ Compare side-by-side

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