The Certified Cryptography Specialist (CCYS) is an advanced, vendor-neutral certification for the engineers, developers and security specialists who have to use cryptography correctly rather than invent it. It validates that you understand what each primitive actually guarantees, can choose the right cipher, mode, hash and key derivation for the job, can reason about public-key systems, forward secrecy and the post-quantum standards, can build and validate PKI, can spot the classic mistakes in TLS, tokens, webhooks and stored data, and can run key management with custody, rotation, inventory and crypto agility. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Advanced. A specialist credential: it goes deep on applying cryptography in real systems and assumes working software or security experience. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 120 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. No vendor product knowledge required. |
| Time | 180 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 75 CEUs per cycle and the $55 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Communications Security (COMSEC) Management (OG-WRL-001), Cybersecurity Architecture (DD-WRL-001). O*NET occupations: Information Security Engineers (15-1299.05). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CCYS is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match primitives to the properties they provide, fix a flawed encryption routine line by line, sequence a hybrid encryption, and choose the custody control for every kind of key. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests using cryptography safely rather than reciting algorithm history.
Hashes, MACs, AEAD, nonces and IVs, password hashing and KDFs, and the misuse that breaks each of them.
RSA, elliptic curves, Diffie-Hellman, signatures, hybrid encryption, and ML-KEM and ML-DSA for the quantum transition.
Chains, revocation, Certificate Transparency, ACME, TLS 1.3, SSH, JWTs and end-to-end encryption, validated the way clients do it.
Lifecycle, custody, ceremonies, HSMs and KMS, cryptographic inventory and governed deprecation of weak algorithms.
Cryptography touches every secure system, and engineers who can apply it without mistakes are scarce and well paid. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience. No certification guarantees a salary or a job.
| CertLabz CCYS | EC-Council ECES | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | No |
| Focus | Applied cryptography, PKI, key management | Encryption fundamentals |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Yes |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes |
| Questions | 120 | 50 |
| Time | 180 min | 120 min |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | 70% |
| Course required | No | No |
| Exam voucher | $199 | Not published |
Compiled September 2026 from the EC-Council ECES certification page. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated with any of them. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 130 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match primitives to properties, fix a flawed routine, sequence a validation or an encryption, or assign custody controls. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
Yes. Algorithms, modes and protocols are described by their standard names, and libraries, HSMs and key services generically. What you prove transfers across languages and platforms. Where a question involves a tool, it is described generically.
You need to understand what each primitive guarantees, how strong it is and how it fails in use. You do not need to derive algorithms or prove theorems. The exam is about applying cryptography correctly.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 75 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $55 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CCYS Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for three hours. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CCYS is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 75 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $55 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.