What SOC Analyst certification is best for you? There are so many to choose from, including the Practical Security Analyst Associate (PSAA), and you might be confused about what makes sense for you.
Fortunately, Andrew Prince has broken down the available options. Hereโs a quick look at his assessment of 5 popular SOC Analyst certs.
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ง๐๐ (๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐) โ CySA+: If you want to build up more foundational skills before going any deeper, the CySA+ is a pretty solid choice. Use this cert to prove you have the fundamentals down.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ โ ๐๐น๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ญ: This cert goes beyond the CySA+ and provides more of a practical exam style. One of its most notable features is its incident response exam, which gives you access to a cloud lab via an in-browser session for approximately 24 hours. In that time, you must analyze and identify malicious activity found in different systems and logs.
๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ โ ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ (๐ข๐ฆ๐๐): Marking OffSecโs evolution into blue teaming, this is another practical exam that will teach you to recognize common methodologies and attack chains against the background of network noise.
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐
โ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐: Another more hands-on cert, HTB stands out as it really requires the student to think outside the box. Plus, they have a 15-minute SOC analyst job role module that they require you complete in order to pass.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ โ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ: This TCMS Security certification experience has been created by Andrew Prince to help students succeed in SOC Tier 1 or Tier 2 roles. Students will learn phishing analysis, incident response procedures, threat detection techniques, log analysis, and more - the essential skills to master in this career.
The PSAA is one of our most popular certifications; and with good reason; we canโt recommend it enough to those starting their SOC careers!
tcm.rocks/psaa-x
No matter what path you choose, weโre rooting for your success. Happy defending!