Study Hub - Security Zero to Hero¶

Your navigation hub for every security certification on this site, plus the Learn pillar for anyone learning security without an exam date.

Table of Contents¶

• Quick Navigation
• Not chasing a certification?
• Decision Tree: Find Your Cert
• Study Tracks by Career Path
• Certifications by Provider
• Most Popular Certifications
• Study Timeline Estimates
• Resource Library
• Cost Planning

Quick Navigation¶

Not chasing a certification?¶

The Learn pillar is for everyone who wants to understand security without an exam date:

• Security from Scratch - seven phases from zero to security engineer, each ending with what you can now do.
• Concepts - bite-size pages on identity, TLS, secrets and the shared responsibility model.
• Glossary - the vocabulary in plain English.
• Day One on Cloud Zero to Hero - terminal, git, HTTP, servers, if you are starting from absolute zero.

Come back when you decide to certify. Many do, after the Learn pillar shows them which direction they enjoy.

Decision Tree: Find Your Cert¶

What's your starting point?
│
├─ New to security
│  └─> ISC2 CC | CompTIA Security+ | Microsoft SC-900
│
├─ Some IT, dev or ops experience
│  ├─ Security operations (alerts, incidents) → CompTIA CySA+ | Microsoft SC-200
│  ├─ Identity and access                     → Microsoft SC-300
│  ├─ Data protection and compliance tooling  → Microsoft SC-401
│  ├─ Cloud security                          → CCSK v5 | GCP Cloud Security Engineer | IBM Cloud Security Engineer
│  └─ Secrets and access platforms            → HashiCorp Vault Associate | Boundary Associate
│
├─ Senior practitioner
│  ├─ Security leadership and architecture    → CISSP | Microsoft SC-100
│  ├─ Cloud security architecture             → CCSP
│  ├─ Audit and governance                    → ISACA CISA | CISM
│  └─ Offensive security                      → OSCP (PEN-200)
│
└─ Platform and product security
   ├─ Kubernetes                              → KCSA → CKS
   ├─ Code and supply chain                   → GitHub Advanced Security
   └─ Network security                        → Palo Alto PCNSA

AWS Security Specialty (SCS-C02) and Azure AZ-500 are retired; their guides stay as reference.

Study Tracks by Career Path¶

Security Engineer (cloud) ¶

1. ISC2 CC or CompTIA Security+
2. CCSK v5 (vendor-neutral cloud security)
3. The security exam for your main cloud: GCP Cloud Security Engineer, or the Microsoft SC-series
4. CCSP, then CISSP as the capstone
5. Add: Kubernetes CKS, HashiCorp Vault Associate

Security Operations (SOC) Analyst¶

1. CompTIA Security+
2. CompTIA CySA+ or Microsoft SC-200
3. Add: Palo Alto PCNSA for the network side

Identity and Access¶

1. Microsoft SC-900
2. Microsoft SC-300
3. HashiCorp Boundary Associate or Vault Associate
4. Capstone: Microsoft SC-100

Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)¶

1. ISC2 CC or CompTIA Security+
2. ISACA CISA (audit)
3. ISACA CISM (management)
4. Read alongside: the compliance guides

Offensive Security¶

1. CompTIA Security+
2. OSCP (PEN-200)

DevSecOps and Platform Security¶

1. CompTIA Security+ or KCSA
2. GitHub Advanced Security
3. Kubernetes CKS
4. HashiCorp Vault Associate

Certifications by Provider¶

The Certs column counts real exams.

Most Popular Certifications¶

Common picks in security job listings:

1. CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) - the common first security cert
2. CISSP - the senior security standard
3. ISC2 CC - entry level, no prerequisites
4. CompTIA CySA+ - security operations
5. CCSP - cloud security professional
6. CISM - security management
7. CISA - audit
8. Microsoft SC-200 - security operations on Microsoft
9. CKS - Kubernetes security
10. OSCP - penetration testing

Study Timeline Estimates¶

Entry level¶

First-cert path with no security background: 1. Work through Security from Scratch, Phases 0 to 3 2. Take ISC2 CC, Security+ or SC-900 3. Build the zero trust project 4. Pick a lane from Phase 7 of the path

Resource Library¶

Learn¶

Security from Scratch · Concepts · Glossary · Topic indexes

Service Comparisons¶

Security tools · Identity and IAM

Architecture and Hands-on¶

Zero trust architecture · Implement zero trust

Career¶

Security Engineer roadmap · Security engineer interview prep · Cloud security in 1 hour

Compliance¶

SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, FedRAMP - resources/compliance-guides/. AI frameworks are on the AI site: AI safety and governance.

Practice & Strategy¶

• Practice Question Banks - scenario questions with explained answers, one bank per certification
• Practice Resources Guide
• Study Strategies
• Exam Day Checklist
• Budget Study Plan
• Community Resources

On the sibling sites¶

Cloud fundamentals, CLI cheat sheets and architecture patterns: Cloud Zero to Hero · Databases and pipelines: Data Zero to Hero · LLMs, agents and AI security: AI Zero to Hero

Cost Planning¶

See the budget study plan for detailed cost-minimization strategies.

Community¶

• Reddit: r/cybersecurity, r/CompTIA, r/cissp, r/AzureCertification
• Discord: Security study servers (links in community-resources.md)
• LinkedIn: Search for "[Cert name] Study Group"
• GitHub: Star this repo and watch for updates

How to Use This Hub¶

1. Start at Decision Tree to identify your cert
2. Open that cert's directory: exams/<provider>/<cert>/
3. Read in order: README.md → fact-sheet.md → practice-plan.md → notes/ → scenarios.md → strategy.md
4. Cross-reference with the Resource Library
5. Take practice exams when consistently scoring 80%+ on practice questions
6. Schedule the real exam when you hit 85%+ twice in a row