PECB Certified Incident Responder (CIR)

• Duration: 5 days

Course Overview

The PECB Certified Incident Responder (CIR) training course equips participants with the technical knowledge and practical skills required to detect, analyse, respond to, contain, and mitigate cybersecurity incidents effectively.

As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated and frequent, organizations need skilled incident response professionals who can minimize the impact of security incidents, protect critical information assets, and maintain business continuity. This course provides a structured approach to incident response, covering threat detection, ransomware attacks, malware analysis, network perimeter threats, digital forensics, and advanced persistence mechanisms.

Through practical exercises and realistic incident scenarios, participants will develop the ability to evaluate attack techniques, coordinate incident response activities, implement containment and remediation strategies, and investigate malicious activity. The course also emphasizes the importance of effective response planning, collaboration among security teams, and continual improvement of incident response capabilities.

Upon successfully passing the examination and meeting the applicable certification requirements, participants can apply for the PECB Certified Incident Responder credential.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Develop and implement effective incident response strategies and coordinate response activities across teams and technologies.
• Evaluate ransomware attack vectors, understand mitigation techniques, and execute response plans to minimize operational impact.
• Analyse malware behaviour, develop remediation strategies, and apply forensic techniques to investigate and neutralize malicious code.
• Identify and respond to external threats targeting network perimeters using appropriate detection and containment techniques.
• Recognize advanced persistence mechanisms and develop remediation plans to eliminate recurring threats.
• Apply structured approaches to incident investigation, containment, recovery, and continual improvement.
• Strengthen organizational incident response capabilities to support security resilience and business continuity.

Target Audience

This training course is intended for:

• Incident response team members and cybersecurity analysts responsible for investigating and managing security incidents.
• IT security professionals seeking to strengthen their technical and strategic incident response capabilities.
• Security Operations Centre (SOC) personnel involved in threat detection, analysis, and response.
• Cybersecurity professionals seeking to transition into specialized incident response roles.
• Security managers and team leaders responsible for coordinating incident response strategies and procedures.
• Digital forensics and security investigation professionals seeking to enhance their incident handling knowledge.

Course Content

Day 1: Fundamentals of Incident Response and Strategic Handling

• Fundamental concepts of cybersecurity incident response
• Incident response strategies and procedures
• Incident identification, assessment, and prioritization
• Coordinating incident response activities
• Incident handling methodologies and response planning

Day 2: Ransomware and Malware Incident Response

• Understanding ransomware attacks and their impact
• Analysing ransomware attack vectors
• Ransomware containment and mitigation strategies
• Malware behaviour and analysis
• Malware incident investigation and remediation
• Developing effective response and recovery approaches

Day 3: Perimeter Threat Detection, Analysis, and Response

• Understanding threats targeting network perimeters
• Detecting and analysing external threats
• Security monitoring and threat detection techniques
• Incident containment and response strategies
• Implementing measures to reduce the impact of perimeter attacks

Day 4: Incident Response to Persistence Mechanisms, Digital Forensics, and Continual Improvement

• Identifying advanced persistence mechanisms
• Investigating persistent threats and recurring attacks
• Digital forensic investigation techniques
• Developing remediation and eradication strategies
• Incident recovery and validation
• Improving incident response procedures and capabilities
• Training course review and closure

Day 5: Certification Examination

• PECB Certified Incident Responder certification examination

Examination and Certification

Examination Duration: 3 Hours

The PECB Certified Incident Responder examination follows the PECB Examination and Certification Program (ECP) requirements and covers the following competency domains:

1. Fundamental concepts of incident response.
2. Ransomware incident response.
3. Malware incident response.
4. Perimeter threat detection and response.
5. Incident response to persistent mechanisms.

The examination evaluates participants’ understanding of incident response principles, ransomware and malware investigations, perimeter threat detection, and the identification and remediation of persistent threats.

Examination format, available languages, and other details are subject to PECB’s current examination rules and policies.

Certification Requirements

After successfully passing the examination, candidates can apply for the appropriate PECB certification credential, subject to meeting the applicable professional experience, project experience, and other requirements.

The Provisional Incident Responder credential does not require prior professional or project experience. Candidates pursuing the full CIR credential must provide evidence of the required professional experience and documented project experience.

Candidates should consult the current PECB Certification Rules and Policies for complete eligibility requirements.

Course Benefits

By attending this training course, participants will benefit from:

• Practical Incident Response Skills: Develop the ability to detect, investigate, contain, and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
• Ransomware and Malware Expertise: Understand attack techniques and apply appropriate containment, mitigation, and remediation strategies.
• Enhanced Threat Detection: Strengthen the ability to identify network perimeter threats and suspicious activities.
• Digital Forensics Knowledge: Gain insight into forensic investigation and evidence-based incident analysis.
• Advanced Threat Investigation: Learn to recognize persistence mechanisms and address recurring security incidents.
• Improved Organizational Resilience: Support business continuity by reducing the impact of cybersecurity incidents.
• Professional Development: Prepare for the PECB Certified Incident Responder examination and pursue a professional credential in incident response.

Training Materials and CPD Credits

• Participants will receive comprehensive training materials containing more than 450 pages of information, including practical examples, practices, exercises, and quizzes.
• Certification fees are included in the examination price.
• Participants who attend the training course will receive an attestation of course completion worth 31 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits.
• Candidates who complete the training but do not pass the examination are eligible for one free retake within 12 months of the initial examination date, subject to PECB’s applicable rules and policies.

The program consists of four days of instructor-led training followed by the certification examination on Day 5.

Prerequisites

No specific prerequisites are stated for attending this training course. However, a basic understanding of cybersecurity, networking, information security, or security operations may help participants gain greater value from the technical topics covered.

The full PECB Certified Incident Responder credential requires the specified professional and project experience.

Certification Body

PECB (Professional Evaluation and Certification Board)

PECB provides training, examination, and professional certification programs across cybersecurity, information security, governance, risk management, incident response, and related disciplines.