You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
LINUX PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTELPI Security Essentials
The LPI Security Essentials certification validates your foundational knowledge of IT security, focusing on digital self-defense for individual users. It covers common threats to computers, networks, services, and identity, along with practical prevention and mitigation strategies. Earning it demonstrates you can use encryption, apply security best practices, and protect your personal data and online presence.
Exam formatMultiple choice and fill-in-the-blank
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions479
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What LPI Security 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.
5domains
17objectives
138concepts
US $120exam 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 LPI Security Essentials certification is designed for individuals who want to establish a solid foundation in IT security. It covers the essential knowledge needed to understand common security threats against personal computing systems, networks, services, and identity, as well as the approaches to prevent and mitigate them. The curriculum focuses on practical digital self-defense for individual users in both on-premises and cloud environments.
This entry-level certification is ideal for students taking their first IT security course, organization staff seeking to improve their security posture, and anyone wanting to attain basic competence in the secure use of information technology. By earning this credential, you demonstrate a commitment to protecting your data, devices, and reputation in today's digital world.
Who it’s for
The Security Essentials certificate is intended for students who have had their first course in IT security, for all members and staff of organizations that want to improve their IT security, as well as for individuals who want to attain a basic competence in the secure use of information technology. It is a starting point for anyone looking to build a career in IT or cybersecurity, providing the preliminary knowledge necessary to understand and address common security challenges.
Recommended experience
No prior IT security experience is required. A basic familiarity with computers and using the internet is helpful. Basic computer literacy and familiarity with common operating systems; Understanding of how to use the internet and common online services
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Linux Professional Institute measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Linux Professional Institute exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
021 Security Concepts
- 021.1 Goals, Roles and Actors (weight: 1)
- 021.2 Risk Assessment and Management (weight: 2)
- 021.3 Ethical Behavior (weight: 2)
022 Encryption
- 022.1 Cryptography and Public Key Infrastructure (weight: 3)
- 022.2 Web Encryption (weight: 2)
- 022.3 Email Encryption (weight: 2)
- 022.4 Data Storage Encryption (weight: 2)
023 Device and Storage Security
- 023.1 Hardware Security (weight: 2)
- 023.2 Application Security (weight: 2)
- 023.3 Malware (weight: 3)
- 023.4 Data Availability (weight: 2)
024 Network and Service Security
- 024.1 Networks, Network Services and the Internet (weight: 4)
- 024.2 Network and Internet Security (weight: 3)
- 024.3 Network Encryption and Anonymity (weight: 3)
025 Identity and Privacy
- 025.1 Identity and Authentication (weight: 3)
- 025.2 Information Confidentiality and Secure Communication (weight: 2)
- 025.3 Privacy Protection (weight: 2)
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Linux Professional Institute publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationLPI Security Essentials
Exam formatMultiple choice and fill-in-the-blank
Duration60 minutes
Questions40 questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
PricingUS $120
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Linux Professional Institute lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to LPI Security Essentials
Credential earnedLPI Security Essentials Certification Renewal and maintenance
The Security Essentials certificate is valid for life and does not require renewal. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Linux Professional Institute maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Linux Professional Institute
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, Linux Professional Institute’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Linux Professional Institute 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 Security Essentials exam relate to the Linux Essentials exam?
Security Essentials is a separate, standalone certification within LPI's Essentials track. While Linux Essentials covers foundational Linux and open source concepts, Security Essentials focuses specifically on IT security topics. There is no prerequisite relationship between them.
Do I need to earn a lower-level LPI certification before taking the Security Essentials exam?
No. LPI states there are no prerequisites for the Security Essentials certification. You can take the exam directly without holding any other LPI credential.
How do I schedule, reschedule, or cancel my Security Essentials exam appointment?
You must first register for a free LPI ID at lpi.org. Then, you can create an account with Pearson VUE to schedule, reschedule, or cancel your exam appointment at a test center or online via OnVUE.
What are the retake policies for the Security Essentials exam?
You must wait seven (7) days after your first failed attempt before retaking the exam. For the second or subsequent failures, you must wait fourteen (14) days. Anyone who passes the exam may not retake it for at least two (2) years.
Is there a hands-on or lab component in the Security Essentials exam?
No. The Security Essentials exam consists of 40 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions and must be completed within 60 minutes.
How soon will I receive my score report after taking the exam?
Immediately following your exam, Pearson VUE will provide you with a score report. LPI will receive your exam results within 24 hours, and if all requirements are met, your certification will be issued.
What job roles does the Security Essentials credential map to?
The Security Essentials certificate is an entry-level credential for anyone starting a career in IT or cybersecurity. It is also valuable for members and staff of organizations who want to improve their IT security and for individuals seeking basic competence in secure IT usage.
Can I take the Security Essentials exam online?
Yes. The exam is available in English via Pearson VUE's online proctoring platform, OnVUE, as well as at physical test centers.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 479 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Linux Professional Institute measures — each one written out.
5domains
17objectives
138concepts
101free 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 Linux Professional Institute exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1021 Security Concepts74 questions
2022 Encryption96 questions
3023 Device and Storage Security113 questions
4024 Network and Service Security90 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.
021.1 Goals, Roles and Actors (weight: 1)3 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
15 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
479 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.
479questions
101pages
17objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1021 Security Concepts74 questions
2022 Encryption96 questions
3023 Device and Storage Security113 questions
4024 Network and Service Security90 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.
138concepts
479free 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 Linux Professional Institute
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
3official links
138concepts mapped
The source
Linux Professional Institute’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 Linux Professional Institute outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 17 objectives, 138 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Linux Professional Institute changes the outline, this page changes with it.
17objectives on the outline→138concepts written→479free 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.