You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
GIAC (SANS)GIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks
The GIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks (GAWN) certification validates a technologist's readiness to assess the security of wireless networks. GAWN holders prove fluency in analyzing wireless networks and their security mechanisms, and expertise in the tools and techniques used to evaluate and exploit weaknesses. This certification is for auditors, penetration testers, and network security professionals who need to secure wireless environments against real-world attacks.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryGIAC
Passing score70%
Free questions685
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks 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
17objectives
123concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The GIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks (GAWN) certification validates a technologist's readiness to assess the security of wireless networks. GAWN certification holders have proven fluency in the techniques used to analyze wireless networks and their different security mechanisms, as well as expertise in the tools and techniques used to evaluate and exploit weaknesses. GAWN candidates understand how their tools operate and know the weaknesses in protocols they evaluate.
Covering everything from attacking weak encryption and 802.11 fuzzing to Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, and software-defined radio attacks, GAWN prepares professionals to identify and mitigate wireless threats across the spectrum. The certification is designed for auditors, ethical hackers, penetration testers, network security staff, and system administrators who need to secure wireless networks in their organizations.
Who it’s for
The GAWN certification is for professionals who assess and secure wireless networks, including auditors, ethical hackers, penetration testers, network security staff, and system administrators. It is also relevant for incident response teams, information security consultants, policy decision-makers, technical auditors, wireless system engineers, and embedded wireless system developers. Candidates should have a solid understanding of wireless networking concepts and security principles, and be comfortable with hands-on testing and analysis tools.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in wireless security, or completion of college-level courses or self-paced study programs. SANS training is available in live and OnDemand formats. Hands-on experience with wireless network assessment and auditing; Familiarity with wireless protocols, encryption methods, and common attack techniques; Understanding of network security principles and best practices
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective GIAC (SANS) measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Wireless Fundamentals and Threats
- Wireless Basics
- Sniffing Wireless
- DoS on Wireless Networks
- Rogue Networks
Wireless Encryption and Authentication
- Attacking Weak Encryption
- WPA Variants
Wireless Client and Network Attacks
- Wireless Client Attacks
- Hotspots
- Bridging the Air Gap
Bluetooth and BLE Security
- Bluetooth Attacks
- Bluetooth Low Energy Attacks
RFID and NFC Attacks
- Low-Frequency RFID Attacks
- High-Frequency RFID Attacks
- NFC
Advanced Wireless Attacks
- 802.11 Fuzzing Attacks
- Practical SDR Attacks
- Zigbee
On the day
The exam itself
Everything GIAC (SANS) publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationGIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
Questions75 questions
Passing score70%
DeliveryGIAC
LanguagesEnglish
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path GIAC (SANS) lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to GIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks
Credential earnedGIAC Assessing and Auditing Wireless Networks Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years by earning 36 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits or by retaking the exam. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. GIAC (SANS) maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by GIAC (SANS)
Exam registration
Register for the exam through GIAC, GIAC (SANS)’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official GIAC (SANS) 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 GAWN relate to other GIAC wireless certifications?
GAWN is a standalone Practitioner certification focused specifically on wireless network security assessment and auditing. It is not a prerequisite for any other GIAC certification, but it can be combined with other certifications to build a portfolio toward GIAC Security Professional (GSP) or GIAC Security Expert (GSE).
Is there a hands-on lab component in the GAWN exam?
The GAWN exam is a proctored, multiple-choice exam. It does not include a hands-on lab component like GIAC's CyberLive exams. However, the exam tests practical knowledge of tools and techniques used in wireless security assessment.
What is the retake policy for the GAWN exam?
GIAC allows candidates to retake a failed exam after a waiting period. Specific retake policies and waiting periods are detailed in the GIAC terms and conditions. Candidates should refer to their GIAC account for the most accurate information.
Can I earn CPE credits for renewing my GAWN certification by taking other GIAC exams?
Yes, passing other GIAC certification exams can earn CPE credits that count toward renewing your GAWN certification. The GIAC renewal page provides details on how to earn CPEs through exams and other activities.
What job roles does the GAWN certification map to?
GAWN is designed for auditors, ethical hackers, penetration testers, network security staff, system administrators, incident response teams, information security consultants, and wireless system engineers who need to assess and secure wireless networks.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the GAWN exam?
GIAC exams are available globally through remote proctoring and onsite proctoring at PearsonVUE test centers. Candidates should check availability in their region when scheduling.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 685 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept GIAC (SANS) measures — each one written out.
6domains
17objectives
123concepts
144free 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 GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Wireless Fundamentals and Threats150 questions
2Wireless Encryption and Authentication95 questions
3Wireless Client and Network Attacks103 questions
4Bluetooth and BLE Security94 questions
5RFID and NFC Attacks115 questions
6Advanced Wireless Attacks128 questions
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.
Wireless Basics7 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
33 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
685 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.
685questions
144pages
17objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Wireless Fundamentals and Threats150 questions
2Wireless Encryption and Authentication95 questions
3Wireless Client and Network Attacks103 questions
4Bluetooth and BLE Security94 questions
5RFID and NFC Attacks115 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.
123concepts
685free 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 GIAC (SANS)
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
123concepts mapped
The source
GIAC (SANS)’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 GIAC (SANS) outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 17 objectives, 123 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
17objectives on the outline→123concepts written→685free 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.