- Network protocol stacks and how traffic really moves
- Designing a network that can be monitored and controlled
- Firewalls, NIDS and NIPS and where each one fits
GIAC Certification Training Course
GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) Certification Training Course
Get ready for the GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) exam with on-demand, self-paced prep that covers the hands-on defense work GSEC tests, from network architecture and access control to Linux, Windows, cloud and cryptography.
Course focus: Defense in depth, access control, networking and protocols, defensible network architecture, Linux and Windows security, cryptography, cloud and AI essentials, SIEM and incident handling, aligned with GIAC's published GSEC objectives.
Course Overview
What the GSEC course covers and who it's for.
Accumentum's GSEC prep course is for people moving into security from IT, and for security staff who want a broad, hands-on credential. GIAC says GSEC holders have shown they are qualified for hands-on IT security roles, so most of the course is spent doing the work.
We built the course around GIAC's published GSEC certification objectives. You'll work through networking and protocols, defensible network architecture, endpoint and network security devices, Linux and Windows hardening, cryptography, cloud and virtualization, logging and SIEM, and incident handling. GSEC includes CyberLive hands-on questions, so labs run through the whole course.
Accumentum is an independent training provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of GIAC. GIAC sets the exam rules, fees and scoring, so check giac.org before you register for your attempt.
Course Objectives
Get ready for GSEC the way the exam actually tests.
01
Cover Every GSEC Objective
Work through each certification objective GIAC publishes for GSEC, in an order that builds on itself.
02
Practice Hands-On
GSEC includes CyberLive questions that run in real virtual machines, so labs are part of every module.
03
Build an Open-Book Index
GIAC exams are open book. We help you build and test the index you'll bring into the exam.
04
Know the Exam Before You Sit It
GSEC is 106 questions in 4 hours with a minimum passing score of 72%, per GIAC. We pace practice to match.
Who Should Attend
- IT staff with a networking or systems background who are moving into security.
- Security analysts, administrators and managers who want a broad hands-on credential.
- Operations staff, IT engineers and supervisors.
- Forensic analysts, penetration testers and auditors who need a strong defensive base.
Prerequisites
- There are no Accumentum enrollment prerequisites and GIAC doesn't require any to sit GSEC.
- You'll get more out of the course if you're comfortable with basic networking, the Windows and Linux command line, and core security terms. Security+ or similar experience is a good starting point.
Pathway Map
The GSEC course in 8 modules.
Each module maps to one or more of GIAC's published GSEC certification objectives.
1
Networking, Protocols and Defensible Architecture
2
Defense in Depth, Access Control and Passwords
3
Endpoint, Web and Mobile Security
4
Cryptography and Its Application
5
Linux Security and Hardening
6
Windows Security
7
Cloud, Virtualization and AI Essentials
8
Logging, SIEM, Vulnerability Scanning and Incident Handling
Course Content
- Defense in depth and the key areas of security
- Access control theory and password management
- CIS Controls, NIST CSF and MITRE ATT&CK
- Endpoint firewalls, HIDS and HIPS
- Web application security, cookies, TLS and access control
- Data loss prevention and mobile device security
- Symmetric, asymmetric and hashing systems
- VPNs, GPG and PKI in practice
- Linux structure, permissions and common weaknesses
- Auditing and hardening a Linux system
- Container and macOS security features
- Windows accounts, groups, Active Directory and Group Policy
- NTFS, registry and share permissions and privileges
- Updates, PowerShell auditing and securing Windows services and Azure
- Virtualization and cloud architecture basics
- AWS and Azure security operations
- AI fundamentals for defenders
- Log management and SIEM assisted analysis
- Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing concepts
- Malicious code, exploit mitigation and the incident handling process
Course Features
Built for the hands-on side of GSEC.
On-Demand Format
Self-paced video lessons you can start, pause and replay whenever it fits your schedule.
Hands-On Labs
Lab work in every module so the CyberLive portion of GSEC isn't the first time you've touched the tools.
Objective Mapping
Every lesson is tied to a published GSEC certification objective.
Exam Strategy
Time management, open-book indexing and practice under exam conditions.
Certification Exam
About the GIAC GSEC exam.
GSEC Exam Readiness
Every objective GIAC publishes for GSEC has a lesson and a lab in our course, so you know exactly what you've covered before you book.
Per GIAC, the GSEC exam is one proctored exam with 106 questions, a 4 hours time limit and a minimum passing score of 72%. It's web based and proctored online through ProctorU or onsite at Pearson VUE.
GIAC can update exam specs, so confirm the details for your attempt in your GIAC account. Full details are on GIAC's GSEC page.
Accumentum is an independent training provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of GIAC. GIAC sets the exam rules, fees and scoring, so check giac.org before you register for your attempt.
Certification Objectives
Every GIAC GSEC objective GIAC publishes.
GIAC publishes 25 certification objectives for GSEC. Each one below uses GIAC's own wording, and our course maps a lesson or lab to every one of them.
Access Control & Password Management
The candidate will understand the fundamental theory of access control and the role of passwords in access control management.
Container and MacOS Security
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how to secure containers and understand security features provided in MacOS.
Cryptography
The candidate will have a basic understanding of the concepts of cryptography, including the major types of cryptosystems, the mathematical concepts that contribute to cryptography and identify commonly used symmetric, asymmetric, and hashing cryptosystems.
Cryptography Application
The candidate will have a high-level understanding of the use, functionality, and operation of VPNs, GPG, and PKI.
Data Loss Prevention and Mobile Device Security
The candidate will understand the risks and impacts of data loss, how to prevent it, and the security considerations of mobile devices.
Defense in Depth
The candidate will understand what defense in depth is, identify the key areas of security, and demonstrate the different strategies for implementing effective security within an organization.
Defensible Network Architecture
The candidate will demonstrate how to architect a network to be monitored and controlled to resist intrusion.
Endpoint Security
The candidate will demonstrate a basic understanding of the function and uses of endpoint security devices, such as endpoint firewalls, HIDS, and HIPS.
Enforcing Windows Security Policy
The candidate will have a high-level understanding of the features of Group Policy and working with INF security templates.
Incident Handling & Response
The candidate will understand the concepts and processes associated with incident handling.
Linux Fundamentals
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the Linux operating system structure, vulnerabilities, and permissions.
Linux Security and Hardening
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of gaining visibility into a Linux system to be able to secure, audit, and harden the system.
Log Management & SIEM
The candidate will demonstrate a high-level understanding of logging importance, configuration, and SIEM assisted analysis.
Malicious Code & Exploit Mitigation
The candidate will understand important attack methods and basic defensive strategies to mitigate malicious software threats and exploitations.
Network Security Devices
The candidate will demonstrate a basic understanding of the function and uses of network security devices, such as firewalls, NIDS, and NIPS.
Networking & Protocols
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the properties and functions of network protocols and network protocol stacks.
Security Frameworks and CIS Controls
The candidate will understand the purpose, implementation, and background of the CIS Critical Controls, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and the MITRE ATT&CK knowledge base.
Virtualization, Cloud Security, and AI Essentials
The candidate will have a basic understanding of concepts of virtualization, cloud architectures, and AI fundamentals.
Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and relationship behind reconnaissance, resource protection, risks, threats, and vulnerabilities including the creation of network maps and penetration testing techniques.
Web Communication Security
The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of web application security and common vulnerabilities including cookies, SSL, and access control.
Windows Access Controls
The candidate will understand how permissions are applied in the Windows NT File System, Shared Folders, Printers, Registry Keys, and Active Directory, and how Privileges are applied.
Windows as a Service
The candidate will understand how to manage updates for a network of Windows hosts.
Windows Automation, Auditing, and Forensics
The candidate will understand the techniques and technologies used to audit Windows hosts and simple PowerShell scripting.
Windows Security Infrastructure
The candidate will identify the differences between types of Windows OSes and how Windows manages groups and accounts, locally and with Active Directory and Group Policy.
Windows Services and Microsoft Cloud
The candidate will understand how to take basic measures in securing Windows network services such as IPsec, IIS, and Remote Desktop Services and Microsoft Azure security features.
Study Plan
How we suggest you work through GIAC GSEC.
GIAC lists the GSEC objectives alphabetically, not in study order. We teach them in an order that builds, starting with the fundamentals and working up to the topics that lean on them, and every block ends with labs before you move on.
Treat each objective as a pass or fail check. If you can explain Log Management & SIEM to a teammate and do it in a lab, mark it done and move to the next one.
If you are new to GSEC topics, plan on steady weekly study over a couple of months. If you already do this work every day, you may move faster. Either way, the objective list is the checklist we hold you to.
Areas and Audience
Where GIAC GSEC fits.
Areas GIAC says this certification covers
- Defense in depth, access control and password management
- Defensible network architecture, networking and protocols, and network security
- Web communication security, virtualization and cloud security, and endpoint security
- Incident handling and response, data loss prevention, mobile device security, vulnerability scanning and penetration testing
- SIEM, critical controls, and exploit mitigation
- Cloud: AWS and Azure operations
- Cryptography: basic concepts, algorithms and deployment, and application
- Linux: Fundamentals, hardening and securing
- Windows: access controls, automation, auditing, forensics, security infrastructure, and services
Who GIAC says it is for
- New InfoSec professionals with backgrounds in information systems and networking
- Security professionals, managers, and administrators
- Operations personnel
- IT engineers and supervisors
- Forensic analysts
- Penetration testers
- Auditors
Exam Format
How the GIAC GSEC exam works.
The GIAC GSEC exam is one proctored exam with 106 questions and a 4 hours time limit. GIAC sets the minimum passing score at 72%.
GIAC lets you sit the exam online through ProctorU or at a Pearson VUE testing center.
GSEC includes CyberLive hands-on questions, which GIAC describes as performance based challenges in realistic lab environments. That is why our course leans so hard on labs.
We tell students to finish the objective list first, then use a timed practice run to find gaps and close them before test day.
Career Outlook
Where GIAC GSEC can take you.
GSEC is the broad defensive credential in the GIAC lineup. It fits security analysts, systems and network administrators moving into security, and anyone who needs to prove hands-on skill across Linux, Windows, networking, cryptography and cloud before they specialize.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual wage for information security analysts was $129,180 in May 2025. BLS also projects employment of information security analysts to grow 21 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations. That figure is a national midpoint. Where you live, how long you have been in the field and who you work for all move the number. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Funding and PathPay
Ways to pay for GIAC GSEC training.
GIAC GSEC is Air Force COOL Approved. See how Air Force COOL works with us.
Paying on your own? GIAC GSEC prep is eligible for PathPay, our monthly payment plan. Terms of 3, 4 and 6 months carry no added fee. 9, 12 and 18 month terms add 5%, 10% and 15%. Course access opens when your first payment clears.
Our funding page covers every other way to pay, and you can always talk with us before you enroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Accumentum's GSEC prep course.
GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) is a practitioner certification from GIAC. Per GIAC, the exam is 106 questions, 4 hours, with a minimum passing score of 72%, and it's proctored online through ProctorU or at a Pearson VUE center.
Ask us when you request a quote. GIAC sells certification attempts and practice tests directly, and we'll walk you through what you need to buy from GIAC and when.
GIAC GSEC is Air Force COOL Approved. Contact us about funding options.
There are no Accumentum enrollment prerequisites and GIAC doesn't require any to sit GSEC. You'll get more out of the course if you're comfortable with basic networking, the Windows and Linux command line, and core security terms. Security+ or similar experience is a good starting point.
Yes. GSEC includes CyberLive hands-on questions, so every module has labs with the same kinds of tools you'll use on the job.
On-demand and self-paced. You get video lessons, hands-on labs and practice questions, and you work through them on your own schedule.
Use the registration page linked below, or email info@accumentum.net and an advisor will follow up with access details and next steps.
GIAC sets the minimum passing score for GSEC at 72%.
The exam has 106 questions and a 4 hours time limit.
GIAC publishes 25 certification objectives for GSEC, and our course covers all of them.
GIAC names these audiences for GSEC:
- New InfoSec professionals with backgrounds in information systems and networking
- Security professionals, managers, and administrators
- Operations personnel
- IT engineers and supervisors
- Forensic analysts
- Penetration testers
- Auditors
Yes. GIAC offers remote proctoring through ProctorU, and you can also test in person at a Pearson VUE center.
Yes. GIAC sells official practice tests. GIAC notes the practice question bank is limited, so the same question can show up on more than one test.
Yes. GIAC GSEC prep is eligible for PathPay. Terms of 3, 4 and 6 months add no fee. 9, 12 and 18 month terms add 5%, 10% and 15%.
Enrollment
Enroll in GSEC training with Accumentum.
Enroll in Accumentum's GSEC prep course to get ready for the GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) exam with on-demand lessons and hands-on labs.
For access details and next steps, use the registration page linked below or email info@accumentum.net.
Ready to start on GSEC?
Start on your own schedule and work toward the test date you pick.