GIAC
GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst
GCFA · Status not verified
Historical catalog data — verify exam details and pricing with the issuer. Salary premiums are estimates, not a promise of a raise.
- Exam cost
- $979 USD (historical estimate)
- Questions · time · passing score
- 1 proctored exam, 82 questions, 3 hours, minimum passing score of 71%
- Prerequisites
- | Practical work experience in incident response and digital forensics is recommended. College-level courses or self-paced study may also meet the needs for mastery. | | Renewal Period | Every 4 years | | Renewal Fee | $499 (or $249 for additional renewals within 2 years of a full-price renewal) | | CPE Requirements | 36 CPEs over four years | | Study Hours | Months of dedicated study, with 4 hours per day suggested for SANS course material. | |
- Estimated salary premium
- 15–25% (historical estimate)
- Renewal requirements
- 4-year cycle · 36 CPE/CEU credits per year
- Difficulty
- Not rated
Domains covered
- ** Memory Forensics
- Timeline Analysis
- Anti-Forensics Detection
- Enterprise Incident Response
- Malicious Event Artifact Analysis
- Windows Event Artifact Analysis
- NTFS Artifact Analysis
- Malicious System Activity Identification
- Normal System Activity Identification
- Volatile Data Collection
- Evidence Preservation
- Application Execution Analysis
Where this credential fits
MyCyberPath career mappings are planning guidance, not universal employer requirements.
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