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 Cyber Threat Intelligence
The GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI) certification validates a practitioner's strategic, operational, and tactical cyber threat intelligence knowledge and skills. GCTI holders are qualified to gather, analyze, and apply intelligence from vital sources, profile and analyze intrusions and malware, pivot and perform domain analysis, and create and share accurate and effective reports. This certification is for incident responders, threat hunters, SOC personnel, and analysts who need to deliver actionable intelligence that connects threat data across all layers of an organization.
Exam formatCyberLive: Hands-on testing in a proctored environment
Duration180 minutes
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU for remote, Pearson VUE for onsite)
Passing score71%
Free questions386
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence 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
9objectives
62concepts
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 Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI) certification validates a practitioner's strategic, operational, and tactical cyber threat intelligence knowledge and skills. It proves your ability to deliver actionable intelligence that connects threat data across strategic, operational, and tactical layers, enabling organizations to understand and respond to cyber threats effectively.
GCTI certification holders are qualified to gather, analyze, and apply intelligence from vital sources, to profile and analyze intrusions and malware, to pivot and perform domain analysis, to use technologies such as network indicators, log repositories, and forensics tools, and to create and share accurate and effective reports. The certification covers key areas including intelligence fundamentals, the kill chain and diamond model, OSINT, campaigns and attribution, and malware as a collection source.
Who it’s for
The GCTI certification is designed for professionals who are responsible for producing and using cyber threat intelligence to protect their organizations. This includes incident response team members, threat hunters, Security Operations Center (SOC) personnel, information security practitioners, experienced digital forensic analysts, and federal agents and law enforcement officials. If your role involves analyzing intrusions, attributing attacks, or communicating intelligence to decision-makers, GCTI validates the hands-on skills you need to perform at a high level.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in cybersecurity, particularly in incident response, threat hunting, or security operations, is recommended to ensure mastery of the skills necessary for certification. College-level courses or self-paced study through other programs or materials may also meet the needs for mastery. Experience in incident response or security operations; Familiarity with network indicators, log repositories, and forensics tools; Understanding of intrusion analysis and malware analysis concepts; Ability to create and share intelligence reports
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
Intelligence Fundamentals
- Intelligence Fundamentals
Intelligence Collection and Storage
- Collecting and Storing Data Sets
- Malware as a Collection Source
Intelligence Analysis and Application
- Analysis of Intelligence
- Intelligence Application
Operational Frameworks and Models
- Kill Chain, Diamond Model, and Courses of Action Matrix
Advanced Analysis Techniques
- Pivoting
- Campaigns and Attribution
Intelligence Sharing
- Sharing Intelligence
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 Cyber Threat Intelligence
Exam formatCyberLive: Hands-on testing in a proctored environment
Duration180 minutes
Questions82 questions
Passing score71%
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU for remote, Pearson VUE for onsite)
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 Cyber Threat Intelligence
Credential earnedGIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years. Renew 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 (via ProctorU for remote, Pearson VUE for onsite), 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 GCTI exam relate to other GIAC certifications?
GCTI is a Practitioner-level certification. It can be combined with other GIAC certifications to build a portfolio, such as the GIAC Security Professional (GSP) or GIAC Security Expert (GSE).
Is the GCTI exam hands-on?
Yes, the GCTI exam uses the CyberLive format, which includes hands-on testing in realistic lab environments with virtual machines and real security tools.
What is the retake policy for the GCTI exam?
GIAC's retake policy allows candidates to retake an exam after a waiting period. Specific waiting periods and attempt limits are detailed in the GIAC retake policy on the official website.
How soon will I receive my GCTI exam results?
GIAC typically provides score reports immediately after the exam for web-based proctored exams. Detailed score breakdowns are available in your GIAC account.
What job roles does the GCTI certification map to?
GCTI is designed for incident response team members, threat hunters, SOC personnel, information security practitioners, digital forensic analysts, and federal agents or law enforcement officials.
Can I recertify GCTI by passing a different GIAC exam?
Yes, retaking the GCTI exam is one way to renew. Earning a higher-level GIAC certification may also renew lower-level certifications, but you should check the GIAC renewal policy for specifics.
Are there testing accommodations for candidates with disabilities?
GIAC provides accommodations for candidates with disabilities in accordance with applicable laws. Requests should be submitted to GIAC in advance of the exam attempt.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 386 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
9objectives
62concepts
81free 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
1Intelligence Fundamentals46 questions
2Intelligence Collection and Storage89 questions
3Intelligence Analysis and Application91 questions
4Operational Frameworks and Models36 questions
5Advanced Analysis Techniques76 questions
6Intelligence Sharing48 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.
Intelligence Fundamentals10 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
386 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.
386questions
81pages
9objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Intelligence Fundamentals46 questions
2Intelligence Collection and Storage89 questions
3Intelligence Analysis and Application91 questions
4Operational Frameworks and Models36 questions
5Advanced Analysis Techniques76 questions
6Intelligence Sharing48 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.
62concepts
386free 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.
2official links
62concepts 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 — 9 objectives, 62 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
9objectives on the outline→62concepts written→386free 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.