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AWS Certified Security – Specialty

Standardize your team on AWS Certified Security – Specialty with a structured AWS training path — virtual labs, a blueprint-weighted practice exam, and team admin reporting included on every CBT Nuggets training subscription.

Book a DemoAll AWS certs
1
Course
300 USD
Exam cost
1
Practice exam
5
Core skills
AWS cloud engineering team reviewing architecture diagrams together
Difficulty
Difficulty: 4 of 5 (Advanced)
Advanced
Exam cost
300 USD
Courses on path
1
Official source
Vendor cert page
Exam code
  • SCS-C03

Exam datasheet

Exam length
170 minutes
Questions
65
Passing score
750/1000
Format
Multiple choice, multiple response
Prerequisites
None, but AWS recommends having at least five years of IT security experience in designing and implementing security solutions and at least two years of hands-on experience securing AWS workloads.
Recommended experience
At least two years of hands-on experience securing AWS workloads
Recertification
3 years
Hiring-market salary
$130,000 - $150,000
Certified professionals
10,000+
Testing centerExam blueprint

Public hiring-market data — not a CBT Nuggets guarantee.

Skills your team builds

Incident responseLogging and monitoringInfrastructure securityIdentity and access managementData protection

Training path

Your team's training path

One CBT Nuggets course covers the full AWS Certified Security – Specialty path. Your team can start today and have admin reporting visible from day one.

  1. Start here · primary course

    AWS Certified Security Specialty

    Prepare for the AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C03) certification with expert-led training. Learn to secure AWS environments by managing access controls with IAM Roles Anywhere, protecting data through Amazon Security Lake, and responding to threats using Amazon CodeGuru Security. In this course, you'll cover securing GenAI applications and leveraging Amazon Q Developer alongside advanced networking like AWS Verified Access and Layer 3-7 firewall rules. This course covers essential tools and techniques, including AWS Verified Permissions, to safeguard cloud systems and make you stand out as a candidate for cloud security roles. This AWS training is ideal for cloud administrators and teams looking to enhance security skills or onboard new team members.

    Scott Pletcher
    140 videosPractice exam17h
    Open course

Every certification includes

Expert-led video training
Virtual labs
Certification practice exams
Per-team completion reporting

AWS career ladder

Where AWS Certified Security – Specialty sits in your team's AWS progression

The cert your team is on now, plus the levels above and below. Use this to map an engineer's next-step credential or to plan headcount coverage across tiers.

  1. Practitioner level

    1 cert

    AWS Certified AI Practitioner

    AIF-C01

  2. Associate level

    5 certs

    AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate

    SOA-C03

    AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate

    DEA-C01

    AWS Certified Developer – Associate

    DVA-C02

    AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate

    MLA-C01

    AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

    SAA-C03

  3. Professional level

    2 certs

    AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional

    AIP-C01

    AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional

    SAP-C02

  4. Specialty level

    2 certs

    AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty

    ANS-C01

    AWS Certified Security – Specialty

    SCS-C03

    You are here

  5. Practictioner level

    1 cert

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    CLF-C02

Compliance coverage

AWS Certified Security – Specialty on your audit packet

Compliance frameworks AWS Certified Security – Specialty training is commonly cited against, plus the control families the cert addresses. Use this as a planning aid for the procurement conversation, your SOC 2 / HIPAA / PCI prep packet, or the CMMC self-assessment crosswalk — paired with your auditor’s formal control crosswalk for attestation-grade mapping.

  • FrameworkSOC 2
    Control families
    CC6CC7
  • FrameworkPCI DSS 4.0
    Control families
    Req 1Req 2Req 4Req 7
  • FrameworkHIPAA
    Control families
    164.312
  • FrameworkNIST 800-53
    Control families
    ACSCAU

Mappings reflect the cert’s stated learning objectives against published framework control families. Not a formal attestation or substitute for vendor audit guidance — pair with your auditor’s control crosswalk for the official mapping your SOC 2 or HIPAA review requires.

Customer outcome

Make AWS a coverage number your auditor can quote

AWS Certified Security – Specialty certified engineers are easy to count and easy to prove. CBT Nuggets bundles the prep into a single team playlist so leadership sees who's on the path, who finished, and who's exam-ready — without spreadsheets.

See team pricing
1 path
from foundation to credential — assigned and tracked as one playlist

Coverage proof

Make AWS a number on your team capability sheet, not a single engineer’s certificate.

Standardizing your team on AWS gives leadership and auditors a coverage number they can quote — and gives AWS incident response a baseline of capability you can predict instead of hoping for.

Credential: AWS Certified Security – Specialty

Exam
  • SCS-C03

Frequently asked questions about AWS Certified Security – Specialty training

Common questions IT directors ask when evaluating AWS Certified Security – Specialty training for their team.

How does AWS Certified Security – Specialty fit our SOC 2 / PCI DSS 4.0 / HIPAA / NIST 800-53 compliance program?

Teams in regulated industries commonly cite AWS Certified Security – Specialty when documenting training coverage for SOC 2, PCI DSS 4.0, HIPAA, NIST 800-53. The specific control families AWS Certified Security – Specialty maps to depend on your environment and audit scope — see the compliance mapping section above this FAQ for the planning view, and pair it with your auditor's control crosswalk for the formal attestation mapping. Team reporting in CBT Nuggets documents assigned training, completion, and certification coverage for the audit packet your reviewer actually wants to see.

What's the ROI of certifying our team on AWS Certified Security – Specialty?

IT Directors typically frame AWS Certified Security – Specialty ROI in operational terms — faster troubleshooting, defensible role coverage, predictable onboarding velocity, and audit-ready training documentation. The metrics that matter aren't seat-time or completion percentages; they're mean time to resolve, time-to-productivity for new AWS hires, and certification coverage by role.

How does CBT Nuggets AWS Certified Security – Specialty training compare to Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning, or Udemy Business?

CBT Nuggets AWS Certified Security – Specialty courses are built by named expert trainers (not crowd-sourced contributors), include hands-on virtual labs in many courses, and include certification practice exams mapped to the vendor's published exam objectives. Team admin reporting tracks assignment, completion, and exam-readiness per engineer — the surface managers actually use to manage team training programs. See /compare for the full feature comparison.

How do I assign and track AWS Certified Security – Specialty training for my team?

From the admin console, managers create a training playlist (one or more courses on the AWS Certified Security – Specialty path), assign it to specific engineers or role groups, and track completion + practice-exam scores per learner. Team-wide reporting rolls up to a single dashboard you can export for monthly leadership reviews or quarterly compliance reporting. No spreadsheet, no per-engineer license fiddling.

How long does it take to certify a team on AWS Certified Security – Specialty?

Depends on the cert and the team's starting baseline. Entry-level AWS certs typically run 4–6 weeks per engineer from a cold start; associate-level certs run 8–12 weeks; professional/expert tracks can run 3–6 months. Most teams budget the full quarter for any associate-level certification so engineers have time to actually apply the lab work before the exam.

What if AWS updates the AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam objectives?

CBT Nuggets updates AWS course content as exam objectives refresh — typically within weeks of the vendor's release. When AWS restructures or renames a track (a common pattern), the assigned training paths stay aligned with the same team training plan; managers don't have to rebuild the playlist from scratch. The training stays current without anyone losing their certification status mid-stream.

Ready to AWS Certified Security – Specialty-certify your team?

Build AWS Certified Security – Specialty capability across your team

See how CBT Nuggets helps IT Directors plan and track AWS Certified Security – Specialty training across the team — labs, practice exams, and reporting included.

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