Meet global cyber skills standards with the new HTB Defense Operations Analyst certificate program

The demand for verified, job-ready cyber defense skills has never been higher.

Organizations worldwide, from enterprises to government agencies, need security analysts who can hit the ground running against modern threats.

To meet this need, Hack The Box (HTB) has launched the HTB Defense Operations Analyst certificate program, a comprehensive coursework for defensive cybersecurity professionals.

The program marks a milestone for HTB’s industry recognition: the HTB DOA program is officially ANAB-accredited, meeting its rigorous international training standards.

Launched in Q1 2025, the HTB Defense Operations Analyst Certificate Program arrives as a timely solution for organizations seeking validated defensive security skills on their teams. In this article, we’ll go through the program structure, its learning objectives, and the benefits it offers both to cybersecurity professionals and the organizations that rely on them.

Into the program: Coursework & learning objectives

The certificate program features HTB’s best defensive content into a single offering.

In total, the program includes 15 Academy Modules, 11 defensive labs (Sherlocks) and Challenges, and 1 final exam accessible only after completing the mandatory training assets. 

Enrolled analysts progress through a structured sequence of browser-based courses and labs that cover the full spectrum of defensive cybersecurity skills. The program’s learning objectives ensure participants can apply these skills in practice: for example, using Elastic and Splunk as SIEM tools to investigate incidents in Windows networks, correlating evidence across logs and memory, performing malware triage and memory forensics with YARA rules, and so on.

Throughout the coursework, Sherlocks and defensive Challenges reinforce knowledge proficiency, requiring learners to analyze realistic attack scenarios and uncover adversarial actions just as they would on the job.

The final exam is a rigorous, real-world simulation: candidates are given a full-scale incident environment and a detailed letter of engagement outlining the objectives and scope of an investigation.

They must identify and analyze evidence of an attack across a compromised network, then produce a professional incident report. This hands-on assessment format means that earning the HTB DOA certificate is proof-positive of an analyst’s ability to handle actual security incidents from start to finish.

Accreditation as a seal of job readiness approval

The ANAB accreditation delivers that seal of quality, assuring employers the HTB DOA program aligns to the internationally recognized ANSI/ASTM E2659‑18 standard for certificate issuers.

Industry experts highlight that 70% of organizations believe the cybersecurity skills shortage directly increases business risk. Meanwhile, 70% of security leaders want their current programs to add role‑specific content to better protect their organizations.

This is why the HTB DOA certificate program maps every module to techniques and work roles from the most prominent security frameworks—ensuring analysts practice the exact tasks they’ll perform in a live SOC.

The HTB Defense Operations Analyst Certificate Program delivers significant benefits both to the cybersecurity professionals who complete it and the organizations that sponsor it. Here are some of the key advantages:

• By completing the program, professionals become eligible for job positions that require DoD 8140-aligned training. For enterprises (especially federal contractors), this provides confidence that your team’s training is vetted at the highest level and supports compliance with government workforce requirements.

• The curriculum is updated to keep pace with the latest threats, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques. As per ANAB criteria, the HTB DOA certificate expires after three (3) years, ensuring that certified analysts refresh their skills to stay current. This approach validates that holders remain proficient in modern tactics rather than clinging to obsolete credentials. Both individuals and organizations can benefit from a program that is threat-informed and future-proof, producing analysts who can tackle today’s and tomorrow’s cyber attacks.

• HTB designed the certificate program to build practical, real-world skills that directly transfer to on-the-job performance. For employers, this means new hires or upskilled team members can immediately contribute to defense operations with minimal ramp-up. The program also serves as a structured workforce development strategy that enterprises can use to standardize their cyber defense knowledge, streamline onboarding for new SOC team members, and benchmark their staff’s skills against a clear competency standard.

Why Hack The Box?

Our community is the testimony of our global reputation for hands-on cybersecurity education, and the HTB Defense Operations Analyst certificate program is a culmination of that expertise.

“With a rigorous review process, the program stays aligned with evolving industry needs, equipping professionals with the most relevant, practical skills to tackle modern cyber threats. ANAB accreditation also guarantees training consistency and external validation, reinforcing HTB's commitment to excellence in cybersecurity training.”

 – Dimitrios Bougioukas, VP of Training @ Hack The Box

Hack The Box is committed to high-quality coursework. Our curriculum developers are seasoned professionals holding a combination of top-tier industry certifications, years of practical field experience, and strong academic backgrounds.

Their experience ensures that the learning materials are not only technically sound but also highly relevant to the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

The Program Director has contributed to prominent cybersecurity frameworks and regulations, such as TIBER-EU (developed by the European Central Bank) and iCAST (by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority).

As an informal expert at the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the Program Director ensures that HTB programs adhere to global best practices and align with the latest regulatory standards.

Finally, the HTB team Hack The Box (HTB) have engaged the technical lead on the ASTM E2659 standard, which is the basis of the ANAB certificate program accreditation program – to guide our programs’ development and to ensure the certificate program industry standards are followed.

How to get started

The HTB Defense Operations Analyst certificate program represents a new level of readiness for cyber defense teams.

The curriculum is available now within the HTB Enterprise Platform, as part of our highly tailored workforce development plans for federal and public sector organizations.

If you want to get started you will just need to get in touch with our team, which will walk you through the course content, platform features, and enrollment process.

Don’t let your security team fall behind. Invest in an ANAB-accredited cybersecurity program that produces real-world results.

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