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 Red Team Professional
The GIAC Red Team Professional (GRTP) certification validates your ability to conduct end-to-end Red Team engagements, from building an adversary emulation plan to establishing command-and-control infrastructure and emulating adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Designed for security professionals responsible for offensive operations, this hands-on, performance-based certification proves you can improve your organization's security by thinking and operating like a real adversary.
Exam formatCyberLive hands-on exam (performance-based)
Duration180 minutes
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU for remote, Pearson VUE for onsite)
Passing score76%
Free questions443
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Red Team Professional 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.
3domains
10objectives
97concepts
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 Red Team Professional (GRTP) certification validates an individual's ability to conduct end-to-end Red Team engagements. GRTP certification holders have the expertise to build an adversary emulation plan, establish command-and-control (C2) infrastructure, and emulate adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to assist in improving overall security.
Delivered through GIAC's CyberLive hands-on exam format, GRTP replaces traditional multiple-choice testing with performance-based challenges in realistic lab environments. Candidates work with full-scale virtual machines, real security tools, and authentic code to prove they can apply offensive tradecraft in real-world scenarios. The certification covers the full Red Team lifecycle — from planning and reconnaissance to gaining access, moving laterally, exfiltrating data, and producing an engagement report.
Who it’s for
The GRTP certification is designed for security professionals responsible for Red Team engagements, including penetration testers, Red Team members, and Blue Team members who want to better understand offensive methodologies, tools, and TTPs. It is also valuable for auditors, defenders, and forensic specialists seeking deeper insight into offensive operations, as well as information security managers who participate in Red Team engagements.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in offensive security, penetration testing, or Red Team operations is recommended. GIAC also suggests SANS-aligned training, such as SEC565: Red Team Operations and Adversary Emulation, to prepare for the exam. Hands-on experience with penetration testing tools and methodologies; Familiarity with Active Directory environments and common attack techniques; Understanding of network protocols, reconnaissance, and exploitation; Experience with command-and-control frameworks such as Empire or Cobalt Strike
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
Red Team Operations and Infrastructure
- Adversary Emulation Fundamentals
- Red Team Engagement Planning and Reporting
- Creating the Attack infrastructure
- Command and Control infrastructure
Initial Access and Discovery
- Gaining Access
- Discovery and Enumeration
- Enumerating and Attacking Privileges
Active Directory Attacks and Post-Exploitation
- Attacking Active Directory
- Leveraging the Domain
- Persistence and Exfiltration
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 Red Team Professional
Exam formatCyberLive hands-on exam (performance-based)
Duration180 minutes
Questions82 questions
Passing score76%
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU for remote, Pearson VUE for onsite)
LanguagesEnglish
Certification levelProfessional
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 Red Team Professional
Credential earnedGIAC Red Team Professional Professional level 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 GRTP exam relate to other GIAC offensive security certifications?
GRTP is a Practitioner-level certification focused specifically on Red Team operations. It complements other offensive certifications like GIAC Experienced Penetration Tester (GX-PT) and GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN), but is distinct in its emphasis on full-scope adversary emulation and C2 infrastructure.
Is the GRTP exam hands-on?
Yes. GRTP uses GIAC's CyberLive format, which replaces traditional multiple-choice testing with performance-based challenges in realistic lab environments. You will work with virtual machines, real security tools, and authentic code to demonstrate your skills.
What is the retake policy if I fail the GRTP exam?
GIAC allows candidates to retake a failed exam after a waiting period. Specific retake policies, including waiting times and any limits on attempts, are detailed in your GIAC account and the GIAC retake policy.
Can I earn CPE credits for the GRTP certification?
Yes. You can earn CPE credits through various activities, including SANS training, conferences, and approved events. These CPEs can be used to renew your GRTP certification.
What job roles does the GRTP certification map to?
GRTP is designed for security professionals responsible for Red Team engagements, including penetration testers, Red Team members, Blue Team members, auditors, defenders, and forensic specialists who want to understand offensive methodologies.
Is there a lower-level certification required before taking GRTP?
No. GIAC does not require any prerequisite certifications for GRTP. However, practical experience and SANS training are recommended to ensure success.
How soon will I receive my exam results?
GIAC typically provides score reports immediately after the exam for CyberLive exams. Detailed score breakdowns may be available in your GIAC account.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the GRTP exam?
GIAC exams are available globally through remote proctoring via ProctorU and onsite proctoring through Pearson VUE. Regional availability may vary, so check your GIAC account for options in your area.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 443 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.
3domains
10objectives
97concepts
93free 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
1Red Team Operations and Infrastructure167 questions
2Initial Access and Discovery132 questions
3Active Directory Attacks and Post-Exploitation144 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.
Adversary Emulation Fundamentals10 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
47 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
443 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.
443questions
93pages
10objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Red Team Operations and Infrastructure167 questions
2Initial Access and Discovery132 questions
3Active Directory Attacks and Post-Exploitation144 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.
97concepts
443free 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.
3official links
97concepts 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 — 10 objectives, 97 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
10objectives on the outline→97concepts written→443free 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.