AWS Services and Concepts on the AWS Security Specialty Exam [Cheat Sheet]
Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start studying for an exam. With so much to learn and so many different topics, what should…
Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start studying for an exam. With so much to learn and so many different topics, what should you focus on and where should you start?
If you’re interested in getting the AWS Certified Security Specialty certification, then here are the main AWS services, features, concepts, and tools that you can expect to see on the exam 👇👇👇
Note: this doesn’t mean these are the only services/topics you’ll get tested on. AWS can make changes at any time, and this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list. Plus, everyone’s version of the exam will be slightly different. However, these are the core topics you can expect to see.
🕵️♀️ Management and Governance
📌 AWS CloudTrail
📌 Amazon CloudWatch
📌 AWS Config
📌 AWS Organizations
📌 AWS Systems Manager (SSM)
📌 AWS Trusted Advisor
🛜 Networking and Content Delivery Security
📍 Amazon VPC
📍 Network Access Analyzer
📍 NACLs
📍 Security Groups (SGs)
📍 VPC Endpoints
📍 CloudFront
🔐 Security, Identity, and Compliance
🔴 AWS Audit Manager
🔴 AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
🔴 AWS CloudHSM
🔴 Amazon Detective
🔴 AWS Directory Service
🔴 AWS Firewall Manager
🔴 Amazon GuardDuty
🔴 AWS IAM Identity Center (SSO)
🔴 Amazon Inspector
🔴 AWS KMS
🔴 Amazon Macie
🔴 AWS Network Firewall
🔴 AWS Security Hub
🔴 AWS Shield
🔴 AWS WAF
🔴 AWS RAM (Resource Access Manager)
🔴 IAM Policies/Roles/Users/Groups
🔴 Amazon Cognito
✨ Other important services
🟠 Amazon S3 (including security features and general storage knowledge)
🟠 Amazon SNS
🟠 Amazon EventBridge
🤔 What do you think? Am I missing any important services that might show up on the exam? Let me know in the comments below.
♻️ If you know someone studying for or interested in the exam, please share this with them! ♻️
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AWS Services, Features, Concepts, Tools
In-scope for the Security Specialty Exam (SCS-C03)
Just because a service or topic isn’t listed below doesn’t mean it won’t be on the exam. It’s not an exhaustive list and AWS can make modifications at any time. Each exam is a little bit different and your version may not contain everything you see here. However, this cheat sheet contains the most important services and tools to focus on since you’re likely to see them on the exam.
Concepts & Tools
Tools and concepts that might appear on the exam
In-scope AWS services and features
What to learn: What’s the main purpose of each service? How do they work with other AWS services (and which ones)? How are they deployed in multi-account environments? What are best practices for configuring, deploying, and managing them?
Management and Governance
Networking and Content Delivery Security
Security, Identity, and Compliance
Analytics
Application Integration
Developer Tools
Internet of Things
Compute
Machine Learning
Storage and Data Management
Other important services
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