Short answer: yes, if you want to truly understand AWS from an attacker’s perspective.
Long answer: it depends on why you want it and who is paying!
Before we begin… a quick thank you to today’s partner CloudBreach.
➜ Their Breaching AWS certification helped me significantly sharpen my offensive cloud security skills. If you want to go deeper:
Only 8 seats left with 20% discount for their Certifications. Use the code 𝗖𝗕𝟮𝟬𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗜 on checkout ➜ https://cloudbreach.io/labs/
What OAWSP Is Really About
The Offensive AWS Security Professional (OAWSP) certification is not another multiple-choice AWS exam. It is highly hands-on and practical, which is what makes it so valuable in my opinion, since you actually do the work instead of just answering questions.
You learn how AWS environments actually get breached.
It shows some simple theory at the beginning, but it focuses on real attack paths that show how AWS environments are actually breached in practice.
Course Content
The course walks you through abusing misconfigurations across core AWS services like IAM, S3, EC2, Lambda, RDS, EKS, SNS, DynamoDB, ECR, Kubernetes and container tooling like Docker and Rancher.
You operate inside a realistic cloud environment that simulates a real company. You enumerate, escalate, move laterally and eventually take control.
➜ If you work in cloud security, this is the side you rarely see clearly.
And that is exactly why it is valuable.
Who Should Do It?
Honestly, almost anyone working with AWS security.
Red teamers gain structured cloud attack methodology.
Blue teamers learn how attackers think and where detection usually fails.
Cloud engineers finally understand why certain “small” misconfigs are dangerous.
Beginners can follow along if they are willing to self-study.
Experienced practitioners still learn new attack paths and tooling.
The key expectation: you must be comfortable learning on your own. Basic AWS knowledge and general cloud security fundamentals are assumed. The course will not hold your hand.
Is It Worth the Price?
If your company pays for it, absolutely yes.
If you pay yourself, be realistic.
I took the $599 version with 30-day labs and that was completely sufficient (With 20% it costs $480). You do not need the more expensive tiers unless you want extra exam attempts or extended access.
30 days is more than enough if you stay focused.
You are paying for:
A structured offensive AWS curriculum
A realistic lab environment
A challenging, practical exam
A credential that actually means something technically
This is not a marketing certification. It tests your actual skill.
How Hard Is the Exam?
The exam is a 24-hour practical assessment, followed by 24 hours to submit a report.
It is intense but fair.
If you understood the labs, you can pass. You will encounter services or edge cases not explicitly covered, but that is intentional. Real attackers Google things too.
The hacking part aligns very closely with the course. The difficulty comes from chaining everything together correctly and not missing small details. One overlooked S3 versioning setting can cost you hours (My mistake).
That is also why it is a good exam.
Free Alternatives If You Do Not Want to Pay
If you do not have the budget, you can still learn offensive AWS very well for free.
This GitHub repo is gold: https://github.com/iknowjason/Awesome-CloudSec-Labs
From there, I strongly recommend:
CloudGoat
AWSGoat
The Big IAM Challenge
PwnedLabs
Attacking and Defending Serverless Applications
These labs are free, realistic and technically solid. You will not get a certification, but you will get real skills.
Final Verdict
OAWSP is worth it if:
You want to understand how AWS breaches actually happen
You prefer hands-on learning over theory
You work in security and want attacker insight
Your employer can cover the cost or you can afford it
If money is tight, the free ecosystem is strong enough to build serious skills.
Either way, learning how to break AWS makes you far better at securing it.
- Rami