Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist — Exam Tips

Today I achieved my third Kubernetes (K8s) certification. i.e. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist. With this, I’ve successfully completed the K8s certification trifecta.

1. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
2. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
3. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)

The Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) program provides assurance that a CKS has the skills, knowledge, and competence on a broad range of best practices for securing container-based applications and Kubernetes platforms during build, deployment and runtime.

Pre-requisite

Candidates for CKS must hold a current Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) certification before sitting for the CKS. CKA certification must be active (non-expired) on the date the CKS exam is scheduled.

Exam Details

• The exams are delivered online and consist of performance-based tasks (problems) to be solved on the command line running Linux.
• The exams consist of 15–20 performance-based tasks.
• Candidates have 2 hours to complete the CKS exam.
• The exam is proctored remotely via streaming audio, video, and screen sharing feeds.
• Results will be emailed 24 hours from the time that the exam is completed.
• The cost is $300 and includes one free retake.
• The certification remains valid for two years from the date it is awarded.
• Kubernetes certification exams now include access to an exam simulator, enabling those registered for an exam to experience the exam environment before actually sitting for the exam. Exams will have access to two attempts, provided by Killer.sh. Each attempt grants 36 hours of access starting from the time of activation. The exam simulations include 20–25 questions similar to the ones candidates can expect to encounter on the real exam. Refer link for more details.
• The certification exam tests specific domains and competencies including:

Documentation

Below is the list of bookmarks I used. You’re allowed to have one other browser tab open during the exam, you can make use of it to access below.

1. PSP.
2. OPA.
3. CSR.
4. RBAC.
5. Trivy.
6. Sysdig.
7. Secrets.
8. Ingress.
9. Seccomp.
10. Auditing.
11. Runtime Class.
12. Network Policy.
13. Service Account.
14. Cluster Upgrade.
15. Security Context.
16. Kubectl Commands.
17. Kubectl Cheatsheet.
18. Admission Controllers.
19. Falco Supported Fields.
20. AppArmor Documentation.

Training Resources

1. Mumshad Mannambeth CKS course on KodeKloud.
2. Kim Wuestkamp exam simulator.

Useful Links

CKS Important Instructions
https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/tc-docs/certification/important-instructions-cks

FAQ
https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/tc-docs/certification/faq-cka-ckad-cks

Please share your feedback & let me know if you have any query or need help.

#CKA #CKAD #CKS #K8s #Kubernetes #CNCF #TheLinuxFoundation #DevOps