# Global Information Assurance Certification

Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) is an information security certification entity that specializes in technical and practical certification as well as new research in the form of its GIAC Gold program. SANS Institute founded the certification entity in 1999 and the term GIAC is trademarked by The Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies.
GIAC provides a set of vendor-neutral computer security certifications linked to the training courses provided by the SANS. GIAC is specific to the leading edge technological advancement of IT security in order to keep ahead of "black hat" techniques. Papers written by individuals pursuing GIAC certifications are presented at the SANS Reading Room on GIAC's website.
Initially all SANS GIAC certifications required a written paper or "practical" on a specific area of the certification in order to achieve the certification. In April 2005, the SANS organization changed the format of the certification by breaking it into two separate levels. The "silver" level certification is achieved upon completion of a multiple choice exam. The "gold" level certification can be obtained by completing a research paper and has the silver level as a prerequisite.
As of August 27, 2022, GIAC has granted 173,822 certifications worldwide.

## SANS GIAC Certifications

Certifications listed as 'unavailable' are not listed in official SANS or GIAC sources, and are found elsewhere. They are not the same as retired courses.

### Cyber Defense

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course | Status |
| GFACT | GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies | SEC275 | |
| GISF | GIAC Information Security Fundamentals | SEC301 | |
| GSEC | GIAC Security Essentials Certification | SEC401 | |
| GSOC | GIAC Security Operations Certified | SEC450 | |
| GOSI | GIAC Open Source Intelligence | SEC487 | |
| GCLD | GIAC Cloud Security Essentials | SEC488 | |
| GCED | GIAC Certified Enterprise Defender | SEC501 | |
| GCIA | GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst | SEC503 | |
| GCWN | GIAC Certified Windows Security Administrator | SEC505 | |
| GMON | GIAC Continuous Monitoring Certification | SEC511 | |
| GDSA | GIAC Defensible Security Architecture | SEC530 | |
| GCDA | GIAC Certified Detection Analyst | SEC555 | |
| GCCC | GIAC Critical Controls Certification | SEC566 | |
| GDAT | GIAC Defending Advanced Threats | SEC599 | |
| GSIP | GIAC Secure Internet Presence | SEC615 | Unavailable |
| GSOC | GIAC Securing Oracle Certification | | Retired |

### Penetration Testing

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course |
| GEVA | GIAC Enterprise Vulnerability Assessor | SEC460 |
| GCIH | GIAC Certified Incident Handler | SEC504 |
| GWAPT | GIAC Certified Web Application Penetration Tester | SEC542 |
| GPEN | GIAC Penetration Tester | SEC560 |
| GCPN | GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester | SEC588 |
| GPYC | GIAC Python Coder | SEC573 |
| GMOB | GIAC Mobile Device Security Analyst | SEC575 |
| GAWN | GIAC Assessing Wireless Networks | SEC617 |
| GXPN | GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester | SEC660 |

### Management, Audit, Legal

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course | Status |
| GSAE | GIAC Security Audit Essentials | AUD410 | Unavailable |
| G7799 | GIAC Certified ISO-17799 Specialist | AUD411 | Unavailable |
| GSNA | GIAC Systems and Network Auditor | AUD507 | |
| GISP | GIAC Information Security Professional | MGT414 | |
| GSLC | GIAC Security Leadership Certification | MGT512 | |
| GSOM | GIAC Security Operations Manager | MGT552 | |
| GCSC | GIAC Certified Security Consultant | MGT513 | Unavailable |
| GSTRT | GIAC Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership | MGT514 | |
| GCPM | GIAC Certified Project Manager | MGT525 | |
| GLEG | GIAC Legal Issues | | Abeyance |
| G2700 | GIAC Certified ISO-27000 Specialist | | Retired |

### Operations

| Code | Name | Status |
| GOEC | GIAC Operations Essentials Certification | Retired |

### Developer

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course | Status |
| GWEB | GIAC Certified Web Application Defender | SEC522 | formally DEV522 |
| GPCS | GIAC Public Cloud Security | SEC510 | |
| GCSA | GIAC Cloud Security Automation | SEC540 | |
| GNET | GIAC .Net | | Retired |
| GSSP C | GIAC Secure Software Programmer C | | Retired |

### Incident Response and Forensics

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course |
| GBFA | GIAC Battlefield Forensics and Acquisition | FOR498 |
| GCFE | GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner | FOR500 |
| GCFA | GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst | FOR508 |
| GCFR | GIAC Cloud Forensics Responder | FOR509 |
| GIME | GIAC iOS & Mac Examiner | FOR518 |
| GNFA | GIAC Certified Network Forensic Analyst | FOR572 |
| GCTI | GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence | FOR578 |
| GASF | GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics | FOR585 |
| GREM | GIAC Certified Reverse Engineering Malware | FOR610 |

### Industrial Control Systems

| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course |
| GICSP | GIAC Global Industrial Cybersecurity Professional | ICS410 |
| GCIP | GIAC Critical Infrastructure Protection | ICS456 |
| GRID | GIAC Response and Industrial Defense | ICS515 |

### GSE

| Code | Name | Status |
| GSE | GIAC Security Expert |
| GSE-Malware | GIAC Security Expert in Malware | Retired |
| GSE-Compliance | GIAC Security Expert in Compliance | Retired |

### Unobtainable Certifications

The following certifications are no longer issued.
| Code | Name | Associated SANS Course | Status |
| GCUX | GIAC Certified UNIX Security Administrator | SEC506 | Unobtainable |
| GPPA | GIAC Certified Perimeter Protection Analyst | | Unobtainable. Formerly GCFW (Certified Firewall Analyst) |
| GSSP-JAVA | GIAC Secure Software Programmer Java | DEV541 | Unobtainable |
| GSSP-.NET | GIAC Secure Software Programmer .NET | DEV544 | Unobtainable |