HTB CJCA: A jumpstart into cybersecurity, the HTB way

Are you new to security? Have you been looking for a way to cover core concepts or build confidence in a new field?

We are excited to announce the latest additions to HTB Academy, our Junior Cybersecurity Analyst job-role path and its certification, HTB Certified Junior Cybersecurity Associate (HTB CJCA).

Designed to give complete beginners a solid foundation across both red and blue teaming, it allows anyone to explore the areas of security that interest them most while building core IT and cyber skills.

When completing the learning path and HTB CJCA exam, you will gain the skills required for junior roles and will be able to continue your journey of specialization into defensive or offensive fields.

The path and HTB CJCA aren’t just for individuals starting out; it’s also a smart move for organizations and universities that need to build, test, and level up talent fast. 

To onboard junior staff. Strengthen their IT crew. Assess their analysts. Get students certified.

HTB CJCA gives a hands-on way to train and validate the next generation of security-curious learners. It is fully aligned with NIST and MITRE ATT&CK, so it can be easily plugged into workforce development plans or universities’ training, enabling talent to hit the ground running.

Here’s what the full learning journey in HTB Academy looks like with HTB CJCA:

As an individual, you can get a good taste of the path without paying a buck, since half of the Modules (Tier 0 Modules) are completely free. But if you're serious about stepping into security, we're offering 25% OFF the Silver Annual subscription until August 31st.

With Silver Annual, you’ll get:

• Full access to the Junior Analyst path + HTB CJCA exam voucher

• Access to all learning material linked to the HTB CBBH (Certified Bug Bounty Hunter), HTB CPTS (Certified Penetration Testing Specialist), or HTB CDSA (Certified Defensive Security Analyst) certifications (and access to all Tier II modules)

• Another exam voucher of your choice between HTB CBBH, HTB CPTS, or HTB CDSA

• And more! (step-by-step solutions, unlimited Pwnbox, CPE credits…)

Now, let’s dive into why this should be the first step on your learning journey.

Security tailored for all walks of life

We need a new way for beginners to join our field, now more than ever.  

According to (ISC)², the global workforce was short by 3.4 million professionals in 2022. In the U.S. alone, over 26,000 Cybersecurity Analyst roles remain open as of 2024, and that number is only expected to grow. 

And while we had plenty of pathways for intermediate and advanced practitioners, we felt there needed to be a bridge between them and this issue. 

HTB CJCA was created to help open the doors to more people interested in tackling tomorrow’s security issues.

It equips you with the foundational skills needed to break into the field and lays the groundwork for future growth in both defensive and offensive career paths.

You might be a great fit for HTB CJCA if you’re part of any of these groups:

Beginners embarking on a new field

“Where to start in cybersecurity?” has been burned into search queries for years now.

With the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst path and HTB CJCA, we are taking you down a road that ensures a clear view of which parts of security will help you establish a strong core.

Even if you have little or no computer science experience, we provide a unique path that teaches anyone the foundations of information technology, blending multiple areas of security holistically, and with an easy-to-use browser-based lab environment. Setup is an absolute breeze.

You will have an advantage over those who were only allowed to choose offensive or defensive security. You’ll be getting the whole picture.

Get started in HTB Academy

University students looking for direction(s)

Most people like to test something out before they buy it. The same goes for degrees. Famously, a high number of students look to switch their major; about 80% of students change their major at least once in their first three years of college.

With so many routes within the field of security, you might even decide to switch it up yourself. Luckily, you’re not stuck choosing just one path through this track; you’ll be open to options.

We want to allow you the freedom to find what suits you best while also giving you skills that complement one another. Then, you can choose another one of our paths to specialize in once you’ve locked into your desired role.

You might be either looking to test yourself before committing to a degree or getting ahead by learning for upcoming courses.

HTB for Universities

Valiant members in the IT trenches (managers and technicians)

Security starts with IT.

Managers already trust Hack The Box to educate, develop, and benchmark their teams. We provide them with the space to create development plans dedicated to all levels and specializations.

For IT managers, this could be the driving force behind not only reinforcing their team’s fundamentals and enabling more in-depth troubleshooting but also providing an incentive for anyone motivated by the prospect of learning security.

You’ll be training well-rounded IT technicians and creating threat-ready staff.

And if you're an IT technician, you’ll already have a head start in asking the security team to involve you in their next project.

Learn more about HTB for Business

Teams seeking real-world skills from day one

Hiring and onboarding junior cybersecurity talent has traditionally felt like navigating a maze. It is complex, unclear, and filled with uncertainty, which causes a bottleneck for anyone staffing a team. You’re already having to think about:  

• Your ability to test skills during onboarding 

• Confidence in hands-on working ability and foundational knowledge  

• How to develop junior talent beyond the initial hire 

• Ability for talent to adapt and understand new threats and tactics  

The HTB CJCA makes onboarding junior cybersecurity hires easy, effective, and practical. It standardizes core, hands-on security skills from day one, removing uncertainty about team readiness, while giving managers insights through the HTB Enterprise Platform. 

And since the training naturally aligns with more specialized job-role paths, you can smoothly build out your team’s skills to meet internal needs.

Get a demo of HTB Enterprise

The curriculum: a 360° overview of security

Traditionally, security training has been siloed: red teams hack, and blue teams defend. Recently, there has been a growing recognition that effective cybersecurity requires a blend of skills. More and more, companies are looking for hybrid analysts who understand both how attacks are carried out and how to detect or stop them

Being armed with both perspectives from the beginning gives you not only the option to discover which part of the security spectrum you enjoy the most, so you can choose the next pathway you may want to roam down, but it also makes you well-prepared for real-world collaboration.

And it gives organizations a way to bridge the talent gap that exists in teams with siloed work experience. Reinforcing a culture of communication and a diversity of skill sets can help bring down your time to respond to threats.

These are the skills you can expect to leave with: 

• Offensive Security Basics: Learn penetration testing fundamentals, including reconnaissance, vulnerability exploitation, post-exploitation, and privilege escalation.

• Defensive Security Basics: Gain proficiency in monitoring SIEM alerts, log analysis, incident response, and threat detection—core skills utilized in modern Security Operations Centers (SOCs).

• Hybrid Attack Simulation & Detection: Engage in integrated exercises simulating end-to-end cyber attacks. Experience both sides of the breach: executing attacks and performing defensive detection and investigation.

• Core IT Knowledge: Establish a foundational understanding of Windows, Linux, networking, and web technologies crucial for both offensive and defensive roles.

• Reporting and Analysis: Develop professional documentation and threat reporting skills critical for effective communication in cybersecurity roles.

Learn more about HTB job role paths

Getting started on HTB Academy

As we mentioned earlier, you can get half of this path for free on HTB Academy. Just work through each Tier 0 Module, one step at a time.

The full Junior Cybersecurity Analyst job-role path is available with a Student or Silver Annual subscription, and the exam voucher is also offered in the Silver Annual subscription. Both plans include unlimited Pwnbox usage and CPE credits.

Before you can take the exam, you'll need to complete the full job-role path. This ensures you're fully prepared for whatever the exam throws at you. 

Here’s how to get started:

• Create your HTB Account and join HTB Academy

• Subscribe to the Student or Silver Annual subscription

• Enroll in the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst job-role path

• Complete the path to unlock access to the HTB CJCA exam

Ready to go all in? As we mentioned before, with the Silver Annual subscription, you’ll also unlock one additional certification path—choose between HTB CBBH, HTB CPTS, or HTB CDSA—and get everything you need to start your career strong.

And right now, you can grab the Silver Annual plan at 25% off until the end of August.

If you're using the HTB Enterprise Platform, good news: the job-role path and exam voucher are already included in all business plans. Same process, all covered. 

If you’re interested in getting HTB Enterprise for your organization, contact us to book a demo of our platform.

Become a security professional ready for the real world

With the constant tide of new security risks and a competitive job market, choosing a development path that delivers real-world skills and provides a universal foundation is key.

Our certifications and pathways have consistently met the high standards of our community. What you learn and walk away with isn’t just theory—it’s practical, skill-based, and directly aligned with what the industry expects, what you need. 

And the HTB CJCA gives you full-spectrum, hands-on training to confidently kick off your start in this industry. Plus, it’s all browser-based. No expensive hardware. No complex setups. Just click, launch, and learn.

Cybersecurity needs people who can think clearly, act fast, and communicate effectively. HTB CJCA was built to help you become one of them: with the right skills, the right experience, and the confidence to get started.

Take your first step into security today