Cyber Scheme Team Member (CSTM)
A pass in this technical qualification is one of the mandatory assurance checks undertaken by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) before CHECK Team Member Status can be awarded.*
The exam is also suitable for individuals who want formal certification of their understanding of the theory and practical elements of cyber security and the fundamentals of Penetration Testing.
This exam also meets the standard required from NCSC and IASME to operate Cyber Essentials Plus Certification Services. Find out more about becoming an assessor for Cyber Essentials Plus here.
The CSTM (Cyber Scheme Team Member) exam has changed. Please click here for detailed information regarding the new assessment.
Important information for Check Team Members
In line with the transition of CTMs to a Professional Title with the UK Cyber Security Council, all Check Team Members will be required to hold a Professional Title at Practitioner Level if they are working on CHECK contracts.
All candidates taking our CSTM exam for the first time, with a view to becoming a CTM, are encouraged to have started the Professional Title Application Form prior to attending their assessment. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
The technical skills candidates will be expected to demonstrate include:
Networking
Understanding common networking protocols such as SMTP, NFS, FTP, DNS
Service enumeration
The ability to map a network
Port scanning
Identification of valuable hosts on a network.
Web application
Understanding basic web application vulnerabilities such as SQLi, XSS, LFI/RFI.
Host exploitation
Understanding of differences between OS’s
Identification of server vulnerabilities
Exploitation of server vulnerabilities Basic methods of privilege escalation.
* The Cyber Scheme cannot award CHECK status, but do award certificates recognised by NCSC as confirmation that the necessary technical standard for CHECK has been met.
The Cyber Scheme believe everyone should have access to a career in security testing. 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 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.
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.
