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 Threat Intelligence Essentials
The EC-Council Threat Intelligence Essentials (TIE) certification builds foundational knowledge of threat intelligence concepts, tools, and workflows. Designed for beginners and career switchers, it requires no prior IT or cybersecurity experience. Through self-paced video training, hands-on labs, and a proctored exam, you'll learn to identify, assess, and act on threat intelligence—preparing you for roles like SOC Analyst or Threat Intelligence Analyst.
Exam formatProctored exam
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions1716
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What EC-Council Threat Intelligence 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.
8domains
41objectives
256concepts
$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 EC-Council Threat Intelligence Essentials (TIE) certification is an entry-level program that equips learners with a strong technical foundation in threat intelligence. It covers the cyber threat landscape, types of threat intelligence, data collection, threat intelligence platforms, analysis, threat hunting, and incident response. The course includes 18+ hours of premium self-paced video training across 10 modules, 5 hands-on labs in a simulated environment, and a CTF-based Capstone Project to validate practical skills.
TIE is part of EC-Council's Essentials Series, designed for freshers and career switchers. No IT or cybersecurity experience is required, making it an accessible starting point for anyone interested in a cybersecurity career. The program prepares learners for progressive career paths as threat intelligence analysts and other entry-level roles, and it provides a globally recognized certificate that increases your value in the job market.
Who it’s for
This certification is for individuals starting their cybersecurity journey, including students, freshers, and career switchers who want to enter the field of threat intelligence. It is also suitable for IT professionals seeking to add threat intelligence skills to their repertoire. No prior IT or cybersecurity experience is required, making it an ideal first step for those with a general interest in cybersecurity and a desire to build practical, job-ready skills.
Recommended experience
No prior IT or cybersecurity experience is required. A basic understanding of computer networks and operating systems is helpful but not mandatory. Familiarity with basic computer operations and internet usage; An interest in cybersecurity and threat intelligence concepts; Analytical thinking and problem-solving skills
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 30 July 2026 · See the source
Introduction to Threat Intelligence
- Threat intelligence and essential terminology
- Key differences between intelligence, information, and data
- Integrating threat intelligence in cyber operations
- Threat intelligence lifecycles and maturity models
- Threat intelligence roles, responsibilities, and use cases
- Using standards and frameworks to measure effectiveness
Types of Threat Intelligence
- Understanding the different types of threat intelligence
- Use cases for different types of threat intelligence
- The threat intelligence generation process
- Augmenting vulnerability management with threat intelligence
- Integrating threat intelligence with risk management
Cyber Threat Landscape
- Cyber threat trends and challenges
- Emerging threats, threat actors, and attack vectors
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
- The Cyber Kill Chain methodology
- Indicators of Compromise (IoC) and MITRE ATT&CK
Data Collection and Sources
- Threat intelligence feeds, sources, and evaluation criteria
- Data collection methods and techniques
- Bulk data collection methods and considerations
- Normalizing, enriching, and extracting useful intelligence
- Legal and ethical considerations for threat data collection
Threat Intelligence Platforms
- TIP roles and features
- Aggregation, analysis, and dissemination within TIPs
- Automation and orchestration of threat intelligence
- Integrating TIPs into existing cybersecurity infrastructure
- Visualization, reporting, and decision making with TIPs
Threat Intelligence Analysis
- Data analysis techniques
- Analysis of competing hypotheses
- Threat prioritization, actor profiling, and attribution
- Leveraging predictive and proactive threat intelligence
- Reporting, communicating, and visualizing findings
Threat Hunting and Detection
- Overview and importance of threat hunting
- The threat hunting process
- Threat hunting methodologies and frameworks
- Forming threat hunting hypotheses
- Threat hunting tool selection and techniques
Sharing, Collaboration, and Incident Response
- Importance of information sharing initiatives
- Building trust within intelligence communities
- Building public and private sharing channels
- Legal and privacy implications of sharing threat intelligence
- Threat intelligence in incident response
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 Threat Intelligence Essentials
Exam formatProctored exam
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
Pricing$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 Threat Intelligence Essentials
Credential earnedEC-Council Threat Intelligence Essentials Certification Renewal and maintenance
EC-Council certifications require renewal through continuing education credits. Specific renewal requirements for TIE are not published on the official page. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements 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 TIE certification relate to the Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) certification?
TIE is an entry-level Essentials certification that provides foundational threat intelligence knowledge. C|TIA is a more advanced, professional-level certification. TIE can serve as a stepping stone for those pursuing a career as a threat intelligence analyst.
Is the TIE exam hands-on or lab-based?
The TIE course includes 5 lab activities in a simulated environment and a CTF-based Capstone Project. The exam itself is proctored, but the hands-on labs and capstone help validate practical skills.
What is the retake policy for the TIE exam?
EC-Council's standard retake policy applies, but specific waiting periods for TIE are not published on the official page. Contact EC-Council or Pearson VUE for details.
What job roles does the TIE certification prepare for?
TIE prepares learners for entry-level roles such as Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst, Threat Intelligence Analyst, and Cybersecurity Analyst.
Can I earn the TIE certification without any prior cybersecurity experience?
Yes, EC-Council explicitly states that no IT or cybersecurity experience is required for this course and certification.
How long do I have access to the TIE course materials and labs?
The course includes year-long access to courseware and 6-month access to labs.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 1716 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.
8domains
41objectives
256concepts
360free 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 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Introduction to Threat Intelligence235 questions
Threat intelligence and essential terminology7 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Key differences between intelligence, information, and data6 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Integrating threat intelligence in cyber operations5 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Threat intelligence lifecycles and maturity models5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Threat intelligence roles, responsibilities, and use cases3 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Using standards and frameworks to measure effectiveness3 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
2Types of Threat Intelligence181 questions
Understanding the different types of threat intelligence5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Use cases for different types of threat intelligence5 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →The threat intelligence generation process6 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Augmenting vulnerability management with threat intelligence6 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Integrating threat intelligence with risk management5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →
3Cyber Threat Landscape181 questions
Cyber threat trends and challenges2 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Emerging threats, threat actors, and attack vectors3 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)6 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →The Cyber Kill Chain methodology4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Indicators of Compromise (IoC) and MITRE ATT&CK6 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
4Data Collection and Sources215 questions
Threat intelligence feeds, sources, and evaluation criteria3 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Data collection methods and techniques5 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Bulk data collection methods and considerations7 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Normalizing, enriching, and extracting useful intelligence3 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Legal and ethical considerations for threat data collection10 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →
5Threat Intelligence Platforms224 questions
TIP roles and features4 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Aggregation, analysis, and dissemination within TIPs4 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Automation and orchestration of threat intelligence11 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Integrating TIPs into existing cybersecurity infrastructure6 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Visualization, reporting, and decision making with TIPs5 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
6Threat Intelligence Analysis241 questions
Data analysis techniques12 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Analysis of competing hypotheses10 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Threat prioritization, actor profiling, and attribution8 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Leveraging predictive and proactive threat intelligence8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Reporting, communicating, and visualizing findings7 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →
7Threat Hunting and Detection211 questions
Overview and importance of threat hunting5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →The threat hunting process6 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Threat hunting methodologies and frameworks20 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →Forming threat hunting hypotheses7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Threat hunting tool selection and techniques7 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
8Sharing, Collaboration, and Incident Response228 questions
Importance of information sharing initiatives7 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Building trust within intelligence communities5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Building public and private sharing channels5 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Legal and privacy implications of sharing threat intelligence6 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Threat intelligence in incident response8 concepts · 11 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.
Threat intelligence and essential terminology10 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
46 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
1716 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.
1716questions
360pages
41objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Introduction to Threat Intelligence235 questions
2Types of Threat Intelligence181 questions
3Cyber Threat Landscape181 questions
4Data Collection and Sources215 questions
5Threat Intelligence Platforms224 questions
6Threat Intelligence Analysis241 questions
7Threat Hunting and Detection211 questions
8Sharing, Collaboration, and Incident Response228 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.
256concepts
1716free 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
256concepts 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 — 41 objectives, 256 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When EC-Council changes the outline, this page changes with it.
41objectives on the outline→256concepts written→1716free 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.