SecProve
ProfessionalVendor-neutralGIAC· issued from US

GSNA

GIAC Systems and Network Auditor

GIAC Systems and Network Auditor

Official page at GIAC↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$979
Ongoing
$0/yr AMF · 9 CPE/yr
Study time
100–200 hrs
Delivery
Hybrid
Validity
4 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

23.5 / 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.
AUD507-aligned IT-audit blueprint with explicit on technical audit techniques.
7.5/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Open-book MCQ. Some audit-scenario items but no audit artefact production.
4.5/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Refresh cadence trails ISACA's CISA; AUD507 was last revised in 2022.
6.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Specialist signal among technical IT auditors; CISA dominates the auditor signal market.
5.5/10

› Exam format

75 questions + CyberLive, 3 hours, open-book, proctored via Pearson VUE. Passing score: 67%.

Passing score
67% (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 USD). Each GIAC cert separately.

› NICE Framework work roles

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

DD-WRL-007IO-WRL-006OG-WRL-012OG-WRL-016
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.

A10Security Operations

SOC operations, SIEM tuning, SOAR playbooks, alert triage, log analysis, runbook development.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Associated SANS course strongly 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 (1)
GSECGIAC / SANS
GSNA
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 AUD507 refresh
Released
2024-04

› Salary signal

Systems & network auditor, US, 4-6 years.

$105K–$155K
median $125K

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

› How it compares

vs
CISA

GSNA is hands-on technical audit (SANS-style); CISA is broader IS audit framework.

↔ 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.

Highlight on the domain mapBrowse all certifications