Certifications¶
All the certification preparation hubs live here, each a self-contained folder built to the
same standards (Mermaid diagrams, source-grounded, no fabrication, a Sources section per
page). Every hub README opens with Prepare for it — the procedure: the
repo-wide method applied to that exam, with a
study plan, a per-domain tracker and a readiness gate.
Shared fundamentals they all draw on — foundations/,
prerequisites/, protocols/,
reference/, learning/ — stay at the repo root.
The order below is the suggested path for a sysadmin heading to a PAM architect role — CEH first; see the roadmap for the reasoning and the professional skill ladder behind it.
| Phase | Hub | What it is | Plan | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · now | 🎯 ceh/ | EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker v13 + CEH Practical | 12 weeks | Full course: concept pages, 20 modules × (guide · facts · questions · flashcards · lab), Kali course, runnable lab, mock exams, defender/PAM knowledge base, OT security |
| 2 | 🔵 cysa-plus/ | CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-003 → CS0-004) — blue team / SOC, detection & response | 7 weeks | 4 domains, exam prep, glossary |
| 2 (optional) | 🧱 security-plus/ | CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701 → SY0-801) — vendor-neutral baseline | 7 weeks | 5 domains, exam prep, cheat sheet, acronyms, glossary |
| 3 | 🟠 pentest-plus/ | CompTIA PenTest+ (PT0-003) — vendor-neutral pentesting + reporting | 10 weeks | 5 domains, exam prep, cheat sheet, glossary |
| 3 | 🟣 pnpt/ | TCM Security PNPT — practical engagement + live debrief | plan | 5 engagement phases, study plan, coverage map, flashcards, debrief outline |
| 3 | 🔴 oscp/ | OffSec OSCP / OSCP+ (PEN-200) — hands-on offensive (24-hour exam) | 3 phases | 6 skill areas, exam structure, study plan, coverage map, flashcards, report template |
| 4 | 🧩 adjacent-certs/ | One-page overviews: CISSP, cloud security (SC-500 / AWS), plus short orientations for Security+, OSCP, PNPT | CISSP · cloud | Orientation pages + two study plans with trackers |
Out of scope by design: vendor PAM certifications (WALLIX, CyberArk, Palo Alto Networks…). PAM is taught vendor-neutrally in foundations/ and the CEH hub's defender-pam/ knowledge base.
See the root README for the whole-repo map, the learning roadmap for how these fit a career path, and the attack → defense matrix for how offensive techniques map to the defensive (PAM) controls that stop them.