Certifications provided by The Cyber Scheme
The Cyber Scheme’s assessments and certifications are recognised as being the best available to demonstrate knowledge, skills and behaviours within security testing and cyber security consulting.
Our assessors hold Professional Titles at the level for which they are assessing or above with the UK Cyber Security Council, of which we are a Licensed Body.
A summary of equivalence to Chartership, RQF and CyBOK levels is shown below.
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Chartership
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RQF Level*
|
The Cyber Scheme Certifications
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CyBOK mapping
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|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
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Chartered
|
8
|
Red Team Manager
|
|
|
Principal or Chartered
|
7
|
Cyber Scheme Team Leader (CSTL)
|
Expert
|
|
Practitioner
|
6
|
Cyber Scheme Team Member (CSTM)
|
Intermediate
|
|
5
|
|
Intermediate
|
|
|
Associate or Practitioner
|
4
|
CSFL (Foundation level training - for organisations)
|
Beginner
|
|
3
|
Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation)
|
Expert
|
|
|
|
2
|
VA+ (Cyber Essentials)
|
Intermediate
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
*RQF level for guidance only. RQF Level 3 is equivalent to an A Level, Level 6 is equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree.
A summary of the examination delivery methods is shown in the table below, which also links to the relevant pages for each examination.
The Cyber Scheme is one of only two organisations certified by NCSC to offer examinations that meet UK Government Standards in Penetration Testing.
The Cyber Scheme is currently the only assessment body certified by NCSC to offer exams in Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation).
The NCSC, as the National Authority for Cyber Security ensures that the Cyber Scheme is operating at the highest standards in the delivery of our training and examinations. Certifications issued by the Cyber Scheme are therefore recognised by NCSC as meeting the necessary standards.
Quality of service delivery is subject to regular audit and is monitored on an on-going basis by the NCSC. This ensures that course content reflects the current cyber security trends and threats and that the examination processes are robust and as near real world as is possible in an examination environment.
Training Comparison
Which training and assessment pathway is right for YOU?
The Cyber Scheme’s Academy is aimed at someone with little to no practical cyber security testing knowledge, and bridges the gap between entry level and our Cyber Scheme Team Member (CSTM) course and assessment. But which is right for you?
The first thing to do is have a look at the syllabus overviews shown below, to understand which is a better fit. If you already know Windows basic CLI, Linux basic CLI, VA scanning and you can write a “hello world” program in Python, then the CSTM might be a better fit. If none of the above makes any sense to you, then the Academy is your go to option.
If the CSTM syllabus seems too low a level for your current skills and knowledge, or you have been a security tester for a number of years, then you may be more suited to our CSTL Advanced Practitioner Mentoring.
We issue certificates at successful completion of all our exams. Certificates are issued securely via BlockMark technology and feature QR codes allowing them to be checked for validity in real time. If you need to validate a Cyber Scheme Certificate please get in touch and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
The Cyber Scheme believe everyone should have access to a career in cyber security. We are available to discuss any concerns you have and are more than happy to make reasonable adjustments for any candidate who requires them during training and examinations.
These reasonable adjustments are to ensure you are given an equal opportunity to demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours required. We recognise that not all disabilities are visible.
We have a range of reasonable adjustments we can offer depending on what difficulty you might face. If you request an adjustment which we are unable to offer, we will give you a reason why we cannot offer it. This might be because it maps to a key Knowledge, Skill or Behaviour that we have to assess against within the certification. If that is the case, we will tell you which aspect we think would not be properly assessed.
There may be background noise during an assessment. Please bring (or ask for) ear plugs / ear defenders or listen to music if background noise is likely to affect your concentration (please note this doesn’t apply to our training courses).
Mobility
Access to all of our facilities is suitable for people with mobility issues. Should any other special facilities be required please get in touch at time of booking. For some reasonable adjustments, such as access to a disabled parking space, we will need to see supporting documentation around the condition to allow us to apply for this access for you. No information will be retained or stored once the request is validated.
