Certification

HackTheBox’s CPTS has been quietly building a reputation as the most technically demanding — and best-priced — penetration testing certification in the market. In 2026, it’s no longer a quiet alternative to OSCP. It’s a direct competitor. Here’s the real breakdown. What Is HTB CPTS? The HTB Certified Penetration Testing Specialist (CPTS) is HackTheBox Academy’s flagship professional certification. It’s built on the Penetration Tester learning path — 28 modules covering everything from network enumeration to Active Directory attacks to enterprise-level reporting. ...

Two certifications. One built around the full lifecycle of a real red team engagement. The other still the most recognized name in offensive security hiring. If you’re choosing between CRTO and OSCP in 2026, you’re asking the right question at the right time. Both are practical, hands-on, and respected. But they serve different purposes — and picking the wrong one first can cost you months of prep and a thousand dollars you didn’t need to spend yet. ...

Two certifications. One practical, affordable, and designed for real-world pentesting. The other expensive, industry-standard, and still the most recognized name on a resume. If you’re choosing between PNPT and OSCP in 2026, you need the honest answer — not the Reddit echo chamber, not the sponsored review. Here’s what both certs actually are, who they’re for, and which one belongs in your roadmap first. What Is PNPT? The Practical Network Penetration Tester (PNPT) is a certification from TCM Security , built by Heath Adams (The Cyber Mentor). It’s entirely practical — no multiple choice, no CTF gimmicks. ...

The cloud is where the money is. It’s also where most of the misconfiguration lives, the IAM sprawl runs unchecked, and the attack surface has grown faster than most organizations can track. If you’re doing offensive or defensive cloud security work in 2026, the AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C02) is one of the few certifications that actually reflects what the job looks like. This is a full honest review — what the exam covers, how hard it is, what it costs, and whether it belongs in your cert stack. ...

There’s a specific moment in a red teamer’s career when OSCP stops feeling like the ceiling and starts feeling like the floor. You’ve got your shells. You can pivot. You understand the methodology. But real engagements don’t look like OSCP machines. They look like hardened Active Directory environments with EDR, segmented networks, and defenders who are actually watching. That’s exactly the gap the CRTO fills. The Certified Red Team Operator from Zero-Point Security is the most practical red team certification I’ve seen in the mid-level space. It’s taught by Daniel Duggan (known in the community as RastaMouse), covers Cobalt Strike end-to-end, and teaches you how to operate inside a defended environment — not just pop boxes. ...

Every week someone asks me what certification to start with. Not what to get after two years of HTB and home lab practice. Not what comes after OSCP. The first one — the one for people who know they want to break into offensive security but don’t know where to start. My answer in 2026 is still the eJPT. Not because it’s prestigious. Not because it’ll make a hiring manager’s eyes light up. Because it does something more important than that: it teaches you what a penetration test actually feels like, before you’re in over your head. ...

OffSec just did something interesting. The company behind OSCP - arguably the most respected hands-on certification in offensive security - has turned its methodology toward AI systems with a new certification: OSAI (OffSec AI Red Teamer). The timing makes sense. Organizations are deploying LLMs, AI agents, and machine learning pipelines at a pace that’s outrunning their security teams’ ability to test them. Traditional pentesting methodology wasn’t built for this. OSAI is OffSec’s answer to that gap. ...

The OSCP used to be the only certification that mattered for penetration testers. Then TCM Security released the PNPT and changed the conversation. In 2026, the PNPT has become one of the most respected entry-to-mid-level certifications in offensive security — not because of brand recognition, but because of what the exam actually tests. This is a full review of whether it belongs in your certification roadmap. What Is the PNPT? The Practical Network Penetration Tester (PNPT) is a certification from TCM Security , created by Heath Adams (The Cyber Mentor). It’s a fully practical exam — no multiple choice, no CTF flags, no memorization. ...