Demonstrate indispensable vendor-neutral cloud security skills and expertise.
The GIAC Public Cloud Security (GPCS) certification validates a practitioner's preparedness to secure the cloud in both public and multicloud environments. GPCS certification holders understand the nuances of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, and are equipped to defend these platforms effectively.
Areas Covered
- Evaluation and comparison of public cloud service providers
- Auditing, hardening, and securing public cloud environments
- Introduction to multicloud compliance and integration
Who is GPCS for?
- Security analysts, engineers, and researchers
- Cloud and DevOps engineers
- Security auditors and system administrators
- Operations personnel
- Anyone who is responsible for researching, evaluating, or adopting cloud security offerings
Instructor Testimonial
“Instructor Testimonial
Certification is crucial to prove that an individual can navigate through the nuances of each platform to defend the data and infrastructure within. The GPCS distinguishes itself from the certifications offered by each provider because it remains vendor neutral. GPCS emphasizes the security strengths and weaknesses of each provider, highlighting that they are not secure by default and require professional reconfiguration. Any organization using one or more of these providers will find the knowledge and experience of GPCS holders to be indispensable to their security strategy.”
Exam Format
- 1 proctored exam
- 2 hours
- Minimum passing score of 64%
- 75 questions
Note: GIAC periodically reviews and may update certification specifications to ensure fairness, validity, and reliability. Using a psychometric standard-setting study, GIAC has set the passing score for the GPCS exam at 64% for all candidates who receive the exam version released on or after November 8, 2025.
To confirm the exam format and passing score that apply to your specific attempt, please refer to the Certification Information section of your GIAC account: https://exams.giac.org/pages/attempts.
Exam Certification Objectives & Outcome Statements
- Cloud Data ProtectionThe candidate will demonstrate an understanding of key management systems and the steps necessary to assess and secure them. The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with using encryption services to secure sensitive data stored in cloud platforms.
- Cloud Identity and Access ManagementThe candidate will demonstrate an understanding of cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM), its security concerns, and the steps necessary to secure IAM policies.
- Cloud Integration and BenchmarkingThe candidate will demonstrate familiarity with the tools and services available to audit cloud environments for compliance with various benchmarks. The candidate will demonstrate familiarity with best practices for storinglong-term credentials. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of cloud end-user identity management solutions and cloud single sign-on solutions.
- Multicloud and Credential Management FundamentalsThe candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the security concerns of the current public cloud landscape. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of instance metadata APIs, how they can be used in credential-based attacks, and how to assess their security.
- Securely Accessing Cloud ServicesThe candidate will demonstrate familiarity with private service endpoints and with securing remote administrative access to cloud platforms.
- Securing Cloud Application Service PlatformsThe candidate will demonstrate familiarity with cloud application services and how to harden common configurations. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of Google's Firebase database offering and how to harden common configurations.
- Securing Cloud Storage PlatformsThe candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how to secure cloud storage services. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the data exfiltration risks associated with these services.
- Securing Serverless FunctionsThe candidate will demonstrate familiarity with serverless architectures and how to assess these environments for security misconfigurations.The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how to harden serverless functions against persistence attacks.
- Virtual Network Security and LoggingThe candidate will demonstrate an understanding of default virtual private network settings and the steps necessary to secure them. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of virtual network logging and monitoring capabilities.
Practice Tests
- Practice exams are a simulation of the real exam, allowing you to become familiar with the test engine and style of questions
- Practice exams can serve as a gauge to determine if your preparation methods are sufficient
- The bank of practice questions is limited, so you may encounter the same question on multiple practice tests
- Practice exams never include actual exam questions
- Purchase a GCPS practice test here
Other Resources
- Training is available in a variety of modalities including live training and OnDemand
- Practical work experience can help ensure that you have mastered the skills necessary for certification
- College level courses or self-paced study through other programs or materials may meet the needs for mastery
- Understand the procedure to contest exam results
- Use this justification letter to share key details of this certification opportunity with your boss