You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
EC-COUNCILEC-Council DevSecOps Essentials
The EC-Council DevSecOps Essentials (DSE) certification introduces the fundamentals of secure application development, DevOps, and DevSecOps practices. It is designed for students, career starters, and professionals with no prior cybersecurity or IT experience. Through hands-on labs and a capstone project, you will learn to identify application risks and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines, building a strong foundation for a career in application security and DevSecOps.
Exam formatMultiple Choice
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions1398
Content last reviewed 1 January 2025 · Up to date
The certification
What EC-Council DevSecOps Essentials proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
6domains
31objectives
220concepts
US $299exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The DevSecOps Essentials (DSE) certification from EC-Council provides a foundational understanding of secure application development and the principles of DevSecOps. The program covers key concepts such as application security fundamentals, DevOps and DevSecOps principles, the DevSecOps toolchain, and the integration of security into CI/CD pipelines. With 10 modules, 7 practical labs, and a capstone project, the course equips learners with practical skills to identify and mitigate application development risks across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
This certification is ideal for individuals starting their cybersecurity journey or professionals looking to expand their knowledge into application security and DevSecOps. No prior IT or cybersecurity experience is required, making it accessible to high school students, graduates, career changers, and working professionals alike. Upon completion, you will earn a globally recognized EC-Council certification, validating your foundational skills and preparing you for the next logical step in your cybersecurity career.
Who it’s for
The DevSecOps Essentials (DSE) certification is designed for a broad audience, including high school, college, and university students; graduates; professionals; career starters and changers; and IT or cybersecurity teams with little or no work experience. It is also suitable for anyone interested in starting a career in cybersecurity, application security, and development, particularly those interested in cloud technology. Working professionals involved in developing, testing, and deploying applications to production environments—including on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid environments—will also benefit. This includes application developers, risk managers, project managers, application administrators, engineers, and architects.
Recommended experience
No prior cybersecurity knowledge or IT work experience is required for this course. Basic understanding of software development concepts is helpful but not mandatory.; Familiarity with cloud computing concepts is beneficial.; An interest in application security and DevSecOps practices.
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective EC-Council measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official EC-Council exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
Application Development and Security Fundamentals
- History and evolution of application development
- Application architectures and development lifecycle
- Application testing and quality assurance
- Common application security risks and OWASP Top 10
- Secure design principles, threat modeling, and secure coding
- SAST and DAST testing
DevOps and DevSecOps Foundations
- DevOps principles and pipelines
- Understanding DevSecOps
- DevOps vs. DevSecOps
- Shift-left security and DevSecOps culture
- Pillars, benefits, and challenges of DevSecOps
DevSecOps Toolchain
- Project management and IDE tools
- Source-code management and build tools
- Continuous testing tools
- Continuous integration tools
- Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools
- Continuous monitoring tools
DevSecOps Pipelines and CI/CD Security
- Role of DevSecOps in the CI/CD pipeline
- Key elements of the DevSecOps pipeline
- Integrating security into the DevOps pipeline
- Continuous security with Security as Code
- Application assessments and penetration testing
Implementing DevSecOps Testing and Threat Modeling
- Integrating threat modeling in the plan stage
- Integrating secure coding in the code stage
- Integrating SAST, DAST, and IAST in build and test
- Integrating RASP and VAPT in release and deploy
DevSecOps Monitoring and Feedback
- Implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Integrating configuration orchestration
- Integrating Compliance as Code (CaC)
- Integrating logging, monitoring, and alerting
- Integrating a continuous feedback loop
On the day
The exam itself
Everything EC-Council publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationEC-Council DevSecOps Essentials
Exam formatMultiple Choice
Duration120 minutes
Questions75 questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
PricingUS $299
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path EC-Council lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to EC-Council DevSecOps Essentials
Credential earnedEC-Council DevSecOps Essentials Certification Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. EC-Council maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by EC-Council
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, EC-Council’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official EC-Council certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the DevSecOps Essentials (DSE) certification relate to the Certified DevSecOps Engineer (E|CDE) certification?
DSE is an entry-level certification that provides foundational knowledge in DevSecOps. The E|CDE is a more advanced, professional-level certification. Earning DSE can be a stepping stone to pursuing the E|CDE, though it is not a mandatory prerequisite.
Is the DSE exam performance-based or does it include hands-on labs?
The DSE exam is a multiple-choice proctored exam. However, the course includes 7 practical labs in a simulated lab environment and a Capstone Project to help you apply the concepts you learn.
What is the retake policy for the DSE exam if I fail?
EC-Council's standard retake policy applies. You must wait a specified period before retaking the exam. Specific waiting periods are not published on the official page; please refer to EC-Council's exam retake policy for details.
Can I take the DSE exam online or only at a test center?
EC-Council offers both online proctored and test center options for its exams. The DSE exam can be taken through Pearson VUE, which provides both delivery methods.
What job roles does the DevSecOps Essentials certification prepare me for?
The DSE certification is designed for individuals starting a career in cybersecurity, application security, and development. It is beneficial for application developers, risk managers, project managers, application administrators, engineers, and architects involved in developing, testing, and deploying applications.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the DSE exam?
EC-Council certifications are available in over 170 countries. The DSE exam is globally recognized and can be taken through Pearson VUE, which has test centers worldwide. Online proctoring is also available in most regions.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2025-01-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 1398 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept EC-Council measures — each one written out.
6domains
31objectives
220concepts
292free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official EC-Council exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
1Application Development and Security Fundamentals283 questions
History and evolution of application development5 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Application architectures and development lifecycle15 concepts · 13 pagesOpen →Application testing and quality assurance5 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Common application security risks and OWASP Top 104 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Secure design principles, threat modeling, and secure coding10 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →SAST and DAST testing6 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →
2DevOps and DevSecOps Foundations214 questions
3DevSecOps Toolchain271 questions
Project management and IDE tools3 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Source-code management and build tools10 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Continuous testing tools10 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Continuous integration tools7 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools8 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Continuous monitoring tools6 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →
4DevSecOps Pipelines and CI/CD Security247 questions
Role of DevSecOps in the CI/CD pipeline7 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Key elements of the DevSecOps pipeline8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Integrating security into the DevOps pipeline8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Continuous security with Security as Code8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Application assessments and penetration testing10 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →
5Implementing DevSecOps Testing and Threat Modeling179 questions
6DevSecOps Monitoring and Feedback204 questions
Implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC)5 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Integrating configuration orchestration5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Integrating Compliance as Code (CaC)7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Integrating logging, monitoring, and alerting5 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Integrating a continuous feedback loop8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
History and evolution of application development10 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
48 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
1398 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
1398questions
292pages
31objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Application Development and Security Fundamentals283 questions
2DevOps and DevSecOps Foundations214 questions
3DevSecOps Toolchain271 questions
4DevSecOps Pipelines and CI/CD Security247 questions
5Implementing DevSecOps Testing and Threat Modeling179 questions
6DevSecOps Monitoring and Feedback204 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
220concepts
1398free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from EC-Council
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
220concepts mapped
The source
EC-Council’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official EC-Council outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 31 objectives, 220 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When EC-Council changes the outline, this page changes with it.
31objectives on the outline→220concepts written→1398free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.