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 Critical Controls Certification
The GIAC Critical Controls Certification (GCCC) validates a practitioner's command of the CIS Critical Security Controls, a prioritized, risk-based approach to security. It is designed for security professionals, auditors, and risk officers who implement, execute, and audit these controls. Earning GCCC demonstrates you can operationalize standards and controls to effectively manage risk and defend your enterprise.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryGIAC
Passing score71%
Free questions872
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Critical Controls Certification 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.
7domains
18objectives
152concepts
US $479exam 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 GIAC Critical Controls Certification (GCCC) validates a practitioner's command of the CIS Critical Security Controls: a prioritized, risk-based approach to security. GCCC certification holders have the knowledge and skills to implement and execute the CIS Critical Controls recommended by the Center for Internet Security, and to perform audits based on the standard.
The exam covers the background, purpose, implementation, and auditing of the 18 CIS Critical Security Controls (Version 8), including defenses, implementation groups, control sensors, policies, cloud guidance, tools, automation, control measures, and standards mapping for each control. Earning GCCC sets you apart as an informed defender able to operationalize standards and controls to effectively manage risk.
Who it’s for
The GCCC certification is for security professionals, auditors, CIOs, and risk officers who need to implement and audit the CIS Critical Security Controls. It is also valuable for information assurance auditors, system implementers and administrators, network security engineers, IT administrators, Department of Defense (DoD) personnel and contractors, federal agencies and clients, and security vendors and consultants. If your role involves operationalizing security standards, managing risk, or ensuring compliance with the CIS Controls, GCCC provides a recognized validation of your expertise.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in security operations, auditing, or risk management is recommended to ensure mastery of the skills necessary for certification. Hands-on experience implementing or auditing security controls; Familiarity with the CIS Critical Security Controls or similar frameworks; Understanding of network security, system administration, or risk management concepts
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
Foundations and Governance
- Background on CIS Controls, Standards, and Governance
- Service Provider Management
Asset Management and Configuration
- Inventory and Control of Enterprise Assets
- Inventory and Control of Software Assets
- Secure Configuration of Enterprise Assets and Software
Access and Identity Management
- Access Control Management
- Account Management
Data Protection and Recovery
- Data Protection
- Data Recovery
Security Operations and Monitoring
- Audit Log Management
- Continuous Vulnerability Management
- Network Monitoring and Defense
- Malware Defenses
Application and Network Security
- Application Software Security
- Email and Web Browser Protections
- Network Infrastructure Management
Incident Response and Testing
- Incident Response Management
- Penetration Testing
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 Critical Controls Certification
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
Questions75 questions
Passing score71%
DeliveryGIAC
LanguagesEnglish
PricingUS $479
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 Critical Controls Certification
Credential earnedGIAC Critical Controls Certification Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years by earning 36 CPE credits or 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 the GCCC exam relate to the CIS Controls version 8?
The GCCC exam is aligned with the current release, CIS Controls V8, and covers the background, purpose, implementation, and auditing of the 18 CIS Critical Security Controls.
Is the GCCC exam hands-on or lab-based?
The GCCC exam is a standardized assessment with 75 questions and does not include a hands-on lab component. It objectively measures knowledge and hands-on cybersecurity skills against a validated standard.
What proctoring options are available for the GCCC exam?
All GIAC certification exams are web-based and proctored. You can choose remote proctoring through ProctorU or onsite proctoring through PearsonVUE.
How long do I have to complete my GCCC certification attempt after activation?
You have 120 days from the date of activation to complete your certification attempt.
What job roles does the GCCC certification map to?
GCCC is designed for security professionals, auditors, CIOs, risk officers, information assurance auditors, system implementers and administrators, network security engineers, IT administrators, DoD personnel and contractors, federal agencies and clients, and security vendors and consultants.
Can I recertify by passing a different GIAC exam?
GIAC certifications can be renewed by retaking the same exam or by earning 36 CPE credits over four years. Passing a different GIAC exam may also contribute to renewal, but specific policies should be confirmed in your GIAC account.
Are there practice tests available for the GCCC exam?
Yes, GIAC offers practice tests that simulate the real exam, allowing you to become familiar with the test engine and style of questions. Practice tests never include actual exam questions.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 872 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.
7domains
18objectives
152concepts
181free 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
1Foundations and Governance86 questions
2Asset Management and Configuration151 questions
3Access and Identity Management94 questions
4Data Protection and Recovery96 questions
5Security Operations and Monitoring194 questions
6Application and Network Security157 questions
7Incident Response and Testing94 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.
Background on CIS Controls, Standards, and Governance9 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
42 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
872 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.
872questions
181pages
18objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Foundations and Governance86 questions
2Asset Management and Configuration151 questions
3Access and Identity Management94 questions
4Data Protection and Recovery96 questions
5Security Operations and Monitoring194 questions
6Application and Network Security157 questions
7Incident Response and Testing94 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.
152concepts
872free 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
152concepts 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 — 18 objectives, 152 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
18objectives on the outline→152concepts written→872free 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.