CCZT - A vendor neutral Zero Trust certification
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has launched the first ever vendor-neutral Zero Trust training and certification program on Nov 15th 2023.
The Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) exam evaluates candidates on the following topics:
ZT Foundational Concepts
ZT Architecture
Software Defined Perimeter (SDP)
NIST and CISA Best Practices
ZT Planning
ZT Implementation
Here's a quick table covering important details about the exam.
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Format | Multiple-choice |
| Testing approach | Open book |
| No. of questions | 60 |
| Cost | $175 |
| Passing score | 80% |
| No. of attempts | 2 |
| Languages | English only |
One can self study for the exam or use the training program provided by CSA for preparation.
CSA provides a free prep-kit which one can use along with other resources such as the CCZT Study Guide for self-study. Following are the list of free resources for self study.
| Resource | Link |
| CCZT FAQ | https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/artifacts/cczt-faq/ |
| CCZT Prep-Kit | https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/artifacts/cczt-prep-kit |
| CCZT Study Guide | Included with the exam token |
| CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model | https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/artifacts/zero-trust-maturity-model/ |
| NSTAC Report to the President | https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/NSTAC%20Report%20to%20the%20President%20on%20Zero%20Trust%20and%20Trusted%20Identity%20Management.pdf |
| NIST Zero Trust Architecture | https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-207 |
| CSA Research Publications | https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/artifacts?term=zero-trust&locale=en |
The Zero Trust Training (or ZTT for short) is an accompanying course that not only covers the core concepts of zero trust but also imparts the skills necessary to implement zero trust. The course includes the following four main topics:
Introduction to Zero Trust Architecture
Introduction to Software Defined Perimeter
Zero Trust Planning
Zero Trust Implementation
While the course is not a mandatory prerequisite for the CCZT exam, it is highly recommended to . The training is available both as a self-paced model and through an instructor-led training (ILT). The training comes with a completion certificate and the 13 course hours can be submitted for CPE credits.
The cost of the training course is $455 and includes the exam token. Learn more about the course here.
