eCIR Certification

Certified Incident Responder

The Certified Incident Responder (eCIR) exam challenges cyber security professionals to solve complex Incident Handling & Response scenarios in order to become certified.

The Exam
INE Security’s eCIR is the only certification for Incident Responders that evaluates your ability to use cutting-edge Incident Response techniques, inside a fully featured and real-world environment.

The candidate will receive a real-world engagement within INE’s Virtual Lab environment. You will need an Internet connection and VPN software in order to carry out this exam.

Why eCIR ?

Here are some of the ways Certified Incident Responder certification is different from conventional exams:

  • Instead of putting you through a series of multiple-choice questions, you are expected to perform actual Incident Response activities on two different corporate networks. Both Incident Response simulations are modeled after real-world scenarios and cutting-edge attacking techniques.
  • You will need to blend multiple detection and analysis methodologies to effectively respond to the exam’s incidents. Traffic analysis, event/log analysis within ELK and Splunk and event correlation are required. A skillset like this will make you a valuable asset in the corporate sector.
  • Only individuals who provide proof of their findings in addition to identifying any attacker activities are awarded the eCIR Certification.

Knowledge Domains
By obtaining the eCIR, your skills in the following areas will be assessed and certified:

  • Network packet/traffic analysis
  • Tools such as Wireshark, ELK & Splunk
  • Actionable SIEM searches
  • Event & log correlation
  • Event analysis
  • Process analysis and anomaly detection
  • Understanding and detecting any stage of the “Cyber Kill Chain” (Information Gathering, Scanning, Exploitation, Post-exploitation)

Prerequisites
The eCIR is a highly technical certification that requires advanced knowledge of networks, systems and cyber attacks. Anyone can attempt the certification exam; however, below are suggested skills to possess for a successful outcome:

  • Letters of engagement and the basics related to an Incident Response engagement
  • Advanced networking concepts
  • Knowledge of Incident Response processes and methodologies
  • Packet/traffic analysis
  • Ability to correlate events and logs
  • Familiarly with tools such as Wireshark, ELK & Splunk
  • Cyber crime Techniques, Tactics & Procedures
  • Detection of all stages of the “Cyber Kill Chain”
  • Familiarity with ELK and Splunk searches
  • Ability to effectively analyze thousands of events within a SIEM
  • Good understanding of Windows (and Sysmon) events
  • Attacker activity detection through process analysis

Expiration
The current version of the eCIR certification does not have an expiration date.

Certification Process

There are two ways to get certified.

Purchase an INE subscription and take the Incident Handling and Response Professional learning path.

The Incident Handling & Response Professional learning path takes you from a basic-intermediate understanding of Incident Response activities to a Professional level. You will receive valuable theory courses and a number of hands-on practical sessions within INE’s Virtual Labs.

OR

Attempt the certification without training

INE allows anybody to attempt the certification exam without attending any training. Candidates should do so at their own risk. The candidate that feels prepared enough to demonstrate their practical and professional skills can purchase an eCIR voucher and go through the certification process.

Whether you are attempting the eCIR certification exam on your own or after having attended one of our approved training courses, you will need to follow these steps to get a certificate:

Whether you are attempting the certification exam on your own or after completing one of our approved learning paths, you will need to purchase an exam voucher before you can start your certification process. Once you obtain the voucher you will receive login credentials to our Certification area where you will manage the exam, the VPN credentials, and any other materials related to the certification process.
Regular vouchers expire after 180 days from purchase. Before the certification expires, you will have to begin the certification process by clicking on “Begin certification process”. The expiration date will always be available in your certification area and reminder emails are sent to make sure you take advantage of the voucher.
Once you click on the “Begin certification process” button, you will receive an email with instructions regarding the scope of engagement. This letter will contain everything you need to know to take your exam.
Once you have completed the exam portion, it’s time to finalize your report. This should be a commercial grade report proving all of your findings and providing remediation steps for your client. You must submit your report within 4 days from the beginning of the certification process (step 2), in PDF format for review.

You are awarded the certification after an INE instructor carefully reviews your findings and deems your work sufficient. Should you fail the first attempt, you will receive valuable feedback from our instructors. You will then have one free attempt to re-take the certification.

This exam is manually graded. Once submitted, it may take up to 30 business days to receive your results.