Purple crew careers are in excessive demand, with firms searching for professionals expert in penetration testing, offensive security (OffSec), and moral hacking.
To face out in a aggressive job market, cybersecurity professionals ought to contemplate incomes certifications that validate their experience.
Right here’s a have a look at the highest certifications for offensive security at the moment, together with recommendation on how to decide on which certification path is best for you.
How one can know which OffSec certification to pursue
Whereas elements like model recognition and price are at all times vital, professionals must also consider certifications based mostly on three standards that straight impression their studying expertise and profession development.
Experiential studying
Offensive security can’t be absolutely mastered via lectures alone. Candidates want hands-on coaching in lab environments to develop sensible expertise. Ideally, certification exams ought to embody a sensible evaluation, similar to growing an exploit to compromise a system.
As a result of people study OffSec strategies, similar to penetration testing, in numerous methods, the simplest certifications supply a number of educational codecs, together with instructor-led distant, in-person coaching, and on-demand movies. Programs must also present strong sources — once more ideally hands-on — similar to technical challenges to bolster studying.
Breadth versus depth
Some certifications cowl a number of assault vectors, similar to CompTIA PenTest+, which spans cloud security, IoT, and conventional networks. Others are extra specialised — for instance, Licensed Purple Staff Professional is devoted to compromising Home windows environments, together with Energetic Listing.
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. Early-career professionals might profit from a broad certification earlier than specializing, however some might want to give attention to a selected expertise or vendor early on. Offensive security professionals ought to take an intentional strategy, choosing certifications that align with their long-term profession targets.
Future-proofing your OffSec expertise
Info expertise evolves quickly — and offensive security strikes even sooner. Due to this, OffSec professionals ought to rigorously consider certification syllabi to make sure they cowl the newest assault vectors, rising threats, and superior offensive security strategies. They need to additionally contemplate how often a certification updates its content material to remain related.
One other key issue is certification longevity. Some certifications, similar to Cell Utility Penetration Testing Skilled, haven’t any expiration, permitting professionals to retain their credentials indefinitely. Others, similar to GIAC certifications, require persevering with schooling credit — often inside their ecosystem — to keep up validity. Whereas this requirement calls for ongoing effort, it additionally ensures you repeatedly refine your expertise to remain forward of evolving threats.
High 16 offensive security certifications
- Licensed Moral Hacker (C|EH)
- Licensed Penetration Testing Engineer (CPTE)
- Licensed Purple Staff Professional (CRTE)
- Licensed Web3 Hacker
- CompTIA Pentest+
- GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester (GCPN)
- GIAC Exploit Researcher and Superior Penetration Tester (GXPN)
- GIAC Internet Utility Penetration Tester (GWAPT)
- Cell Utility Penetration Testing Skilled (eMAPT)
- Offensive Safety Licensed Professional (OSCE)
- Offensive Safety Licensed Skilled (OSCP)
- Offensive Safety Protection Analyst (OSDA)
- Offensive Safety Exploit Developer (OSED)
- Offensive Safety Exploitation Professional (OSEE)
- Offensive Safety Internet Assessor (OSWA)
- Offensive Safety Internet Professional (OSWE)
Licensed Moral Hacker (C|EH)
The EC-Council’s Licensed Moral Hacker (C|EH) teaches the foundations of moral hacking throughout 20 modules, starting with footprinting as much as cloud computing and cryptography. The EC-Council recommends professionals with two years of IT security expertise; these with out can put together with its free Cyber Safety Necessities collection. For the C|EH, professionals will study expertise for every stage of moral hacking: reconnaissance, scanning, gaining and sustaining entry, and overlaying tracks. The cert is good for cybersecurity auditors, warning analysts, answer architects, and extra. The C|EH examination consists of 125 multiple-choice questions and a sensible examination based mostly on numerous eventualities.
Though there are not any official conditions, EC-Council recommends two years of related expertise or its Cybersecurity Necessities Sequence, which offers foundational data in cybersecurity.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,400, examination, on-demand video course, further sources; reside and hybrid coaching choices accessible coupled with examination vouchers
For extra, see “Licensed Moral Hacker (CEH): Certification price, coaching, and worth.”
Licensed Penetration Testing Engineer (CPTE)
Administered by mile2, CPTE is really useful for pen testers, security officers, moral hackers, and different cybersecurity professionals all in favour of higher administration. By means of CPTE, they’ll display data of testing and reporting procedures via 13 modules, similar to info gathering, automated vulnerability evaluation, evasion strategies, networks and sniffing, and report writing. There’s additionally an equal variety of hands-on labs. The 2-hour examination consists of 100 questions; candidates should reply 70 appropriately to cross. To resume the CPTE, holders should cross the newest examination model and earn 20 persevering with schooling items earlier than its three-year expiration. There are not any enforced conditions, however mile2 recommends candidates have one 12 months of networking expertise and data of Linux, TCP/IP, PEH, and Microsoft security.
Coaching and examination charges: US$330, prep information, observe quiz, two examination makes an attempt; US$717, one-year entry to course, further sources (workbook, lab information), two examination makes an attempt
Licensed Purple Staff Professional (CRTE)
Altered Safety presents the Licensed Purple Staff Professional (CRTE) certification, which focuses on understanding and practising threats towards Home windows infrastructure. The course consists of 14 hours of video content material and a lab setting that teaches candidates the right way to abuse Energetic Listing (AD), bypass defenses similar to Home windows Defender, and assault Azure AD Integration. College students are offered a completely patched AD setting for the examination and should resolve challenges by setting up assault paths. To take care of the CRTE, holders can retake the newest examination or full the Licensed Purple Staff Grasp certification earlier than the three-year expiry. There are not any formal conditions for CRTE, however Altered Safety recommends understanding penetration testing or security administration in an AD setting and the inclination to consider abuses for AD reasonably than exploits, each of which will be realized from Altered Safety’s newbie certification, Licensed Purple Staff Skilled.
Coaching and examination charges: US$299, examination try, lifetime entry to course materials, 30 days of lab entry; US$499 and US$699, similar sources with lab entry prolonged to 60 and 90 days, respectively
Licensed Web3 Hacker
Administered by 101 Blockchains, one of many lesser-known certifying our bodies on this record, Licensed Web3 Hacker could also be particularly well timed. The Trump administration is strongly pro-crypto, and crypto companies, similar to Bybit, which misplaced US$1.5 billion in a February 2025 hack, stay extremely susceptible. Licensed Web3 Hacker teaches candidates to know web3 exploits, resolve threats, and enhance security. The curriculum spans a number of areas of web3, together with Ethereum Digital Machine, tokens, and DeFi. This certification is good for cybersecurity professionals who want to construct a profession as blockchain builders, good contract auditors, and web3 utility security testers. The course might also be useful to professionals from conventional enterprises that will discover web3 applied sciences; staff from HSBC, SAP, Cisco, Deloitte, Citibank, and KPMG have all taken the course. The syllabus states that there’s a remaining examination however doesn’t specify the format. There are not any necessary conditions, however candidates with prior expertise in blockchain security might have a bonus.
Coaching and examination charges: US$299, course, examination, further sources
CompTIA Pentest+
CompTIA Pentest+ is run by high certifying physique CompTIA, developed in partnership with Deloitte, Constancy, GDIT, Secureworks, Zoom, and the US Navy. CompTIA Pentest+ teaches candidates 5 modules: engagement administration, assaults and exploits, reconnaissance and enumeration, post-exploitation and lateral motion, and vulnerability discovery and evaluation. The curriculum covers all assault vectors, similar to cloud, IoT, and internet purposes, and it addresses rising threats like AI. The 165-minute examination consists of performance-based and multiple-choice questions; candidates should rating 750 on a 900-point scale to cross. There are not any conditions, however CompTIA recommends its Community+ or Safety+ certifications or three years of expertise in a penetration testing function. To resume the Pentest+ certification, holders should earn 60 persevering with schooling items (CEU) each three years.
Coaching and examination charges: US$404, examination; US$581, examination, retake, and examine information; US$741, examination, retake, examine information, further examination observe
GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester (GCPN)
Safety is a significant concern for enterprises that retailer knowledge within the cloud. Supplied by GIAC, which offers greater than 40 cybersecurity certifications, the GCPN is good for professionals who must conduct cloud-focused penetration testing, similar to vulnerability analysts, threat evaluation officers, or DevOps or web site reliability engineers. The certification covers cloud penetration testing fundamentals and particular assaults on AWS and Azure. The 2-hour examination consists of 75 questions; candidates should rating 70% to cross. GCPN holders should renew by taking 36 persevering with skilled schooling (CPE) credit each 4 years. There are not any official conditions for the GCPN. Nonetheless, the affiliated preparatory course recommends college students be aware of Linux bash, Azure and AWS command-line interface instruments, networking, and Port Pivots as a result of most labs are executed via the command line.
Coaching charges: GIAC presents on-demand and in-person choices priced at native charges.
Examination charges: US$999; retakes, US$899
GIAC Exploit Researcher and Superior Penetration Tester (GXPN)
Extra superior than the GIAC Penetration Tester Certification (GPEN), the GXPN is fitted to community and methods penetration testers, incident handlers, and different cybersecurity professionals who should conduct superior penetration testing and mannequin attackers’ conduct to enhance a company’s security. The GXPN covers eight areas: network- and cryptography-based assaults, restricted environments, shellcode and reminiscence fundamentals, and stack overflows and stack protections for Home windows and Linux. Customers should rating 67% out of 60 questions throughout the three-hour proctored examination to cross. GXPN holders should additionally take 36 CPE credit each 4 years to resume the certification. There are not any official conditions for the GXPN, however the affiliated preparatory course recommends that candidates have the fundamentals of penetration testing, Linux and Home windows, and Python, C, and C++.
Coaching charges: GIAC presents on-demand and in-person choices priced at native charges.
Examination charges: US$999; retakes, US$899
GIAC Internet Utility Penetration Tester (GWAPT)
The GWAPT is tailor-made for cybersecurity professionals who want to concentrate on conducting penetration testing on internet purposes, similar to web site architects and utility builders. The certification covers session administration, configuration testing, authentication, SQL injection, and shopper injection assaults. The three-hour examination consists of 82 questions, and candidates want to attain 71% to cross. As with the GCPN and GXPN, candidates should full 36 CPE credit to keep up the validity of their GWAPT. There are not any official conditions for the GWAPT, however the affiliated preparatory course recommends data of the Linux command line.
Coaching charges: GIAC presents on-demand and in-person choices priced at native charges.
Examination charges: US$999; retakes, US$899
Cell Utility Penetration Testing Skilled (eMAPT)
A number of certifications on this record contact on cellular as an assault vector, however the Cell Utility Penetration Testing Skilled certification supplied by INE Safety is the one one to give attention to the topic. The training path consists of two pen-testing programs — one for Android and the opposite for iOS — that span greater than 11 hours in video content material. Candidates who full this path will perceive the right way to establish security points on cellular OSes and use strategies similar to info gathering, reverse engineering, and community evaluation. For the examination, candidates should analyze, pen-test, and produce a working exploit for an Android utility that’s manually reviewed by course instructors. eMAPT has no expiration, and INE Safety presents one other studying path, Superior Penetration Testing, for holders who need extra skilled growth. Whereas there are not any conditions, INE Safety recommends candidates perceive penetration testing, encryption and decryption algorithms, guide exploitation, Android utility structure, security mechanisms, and algorithm evaluation.
Coaching and examination charges: US$400, examination solely; US$299 annual subscription for Android and iOS pen-testing programs; US$749 premium annual subscription for added coaching content material and hands-on labs
Offensive Safety Licensed Professional (OSCE)
OffSec’s Offensive Safety Licensed Professional is exclusive in comparison with its different certifications on this record. It consists of three programs: Superior Internet Attacks and Exploitation, Superior Evasion Strategies and Breaching Defenses, and Home windows Consumer Mode Exploit Improvement, every of which awards its personal certification. The format for every course examination is similar: Candidates have 48 hours to compromise a given goal utilizing numerous strategies. No formal conditions exist for the three programs, although OffSec makes particular data and ability suggestions for every. Candidates who full the three programs and earn the OSCE additionally get a problem coin symbolizing their experience in offensive security.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, every course plus examination; US$5,247, whole price for OSCE
Offensive Safety Licensed Skilled (OSCP)
To earn the OffSec Licensed Skilled certification, candidates should full the affiliated course, Penetration Testing with Kali Linux, and cross the next examination. The course covers 10 modules, together with info gathering, vulnerability scanning, client-side assaults, and fixing exploits. Certificates holders can have proven mastery of penetration testing methodologies splendid for brand new roles, similar to moral hacker, incident responder, or risk hunter. The OSCP examination is hands-on; test-takers should compromise methods inside a lab setting.
OffSec doesn’t implement conditions however recommends candidates be aware of TCP/IP networking, scripting in Bash and Python, and Linux and Home windows, which they’ll study via its Community Penetration Testing Necessities Studying Path.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, Kali Linux course plus examination
Offensive Safety Protection Analyst (OSDA)
The course that culminates within the OSDA is Foundational Safety Operations and Defensive Evaluation, which teaches candidates to defend networks and methods towards cyber threats. Particular modules embody assault methodology, Home windows client- and server-side assaults, Linux assaults, community detections, and antivirus alerts and evasion. Incomes the OSDA might open job alternatives as a risk hunter, incident responder, or defensive-focused security engineer. In the course of the examination, college students have 24 hours to establish and reply to threats in a lab setting and an extra 24 hours to submit an incident response report. Whereas there are not any formal conditions to OSDA, OffSec recommends data of TCP/IP networking, Home windows and Linux, and common cybersecurity ideas.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, course plus examination
Offensive Safety Exploit Developer (OSED)
The Home windows Consumer Mode Exploit Improvement course culminates within the OSED certification, which attests to the skilled’s means to develop exploits and bypass security defenses. The course syllabus incorporates modules on stack buffer overflows, overcoming area restrictions, reverse-engineering bugs, and format string specifier assaults. This course targets cybersecurity professionals searching for roles as an exploit developer, malware analyst, or security researcher. In the course of the 48-hour examination, candidates should exploit a simulated reside community in a lab setting and supply proof of exploitation. There are not any formal conditions for OSED, however OffSec recommends candidates be aware of penetration testing, Home windows, debugging instruments similar to WinDbg, and C and meeting.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, course plus examination
Offensive Safety Exploitation Professional (OSEE)
Based on OffSec, Superior Home windows Exploitation — which awards the OSEE certification — is probably the most difficult of all their programs. Given this problem, OffSec presents this class solely in an in-person, instructor-led format. College students will study superior heap manipulations, bypass of consumer mode security mitigations and kernel mode security mitigations, and 64-bit Home windows Kernel Driver reverse engineering. To organize, candidates have to be aware of growing Home windows exploits, working a debugger, and WinDBG, x86_64 meeting, IDA Professional, and C/C++ programming. In the course of the 72-hour examination, candidates should develop exploits for a number of goal methods and submit a penetration check report with notes and screenshots.
Coaching and examination charges: Teacher-led class classes for Superior Home windows Exploitation are supplied at native market charges at main enterprise hubs all over the world. Enterprises can even contact OffSec to conduct in-house coaching for the course.
Offensive Safety Internet Assessor (OSWA)
The Foundational Internet Utility Assessments with Kali Linux course focuses on understanding and exploiting widespread internet vulnerabilities via cross-site request forgery, SQL injection, server-side request forgery, and exploiting CORs misconfigurations. Since this course is considered one of OffSec’s introductory courses, the group solely recommends a primary understanding of Linux, networking, and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. To cross the OSWA examination, college students should compromise an online utility in a lab setting inside 24 hours and submit a penetration testing report inside the day after. Professionals who’ve earned the OSWA can receive positions as an online utility penetration tester, vulnerability researcher, web-focused security guide, or bug bounty hunter.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, course plus examination
Offensive Safety Internet Professional (OSWE)
OffSec additionally presents the Offensive Safety Internet Professional certification, which focuses on penetration testing and exploit growth of internet purposes. The affiliated Superior Internet Attacks and Exploitation course will train candidates internet security instruments and methodologies, supply code evaluation, session hijacking, distant code execution, knowledge exfiltration, and extra. The certification is designed for professionals with expertise in cybersecurity or penetration testing who need to pursue higher-level roles as a security architect, vulnerability researcher, or product security engineer. The OWSE examination is hands-on: Candidates are offered a check setting and tasked with compromising an online utility utilizing strategies from the course. Candidates who fail should observe a cooling-off interval earlier than retaking it, with the length relying on the variety of earlier makes an attempt. Whereas there are not any conditions, OffSec strongly recommends candidates know not less than one coding language, be capable of write easy scripts, have a background in internet proxies, be aware of Linux, and have a common understanding of cyberattacks.
Coaching and examination charges: US$1,749, course plus examination
